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Going Up?...all the way to Geosychronous Orbit

A couple of articles on a concept found in science fiction from Arthur C. Clarke and others: a tethered orbital elevator system! At first glance if one is unfamiliar with the concept it sounds like something from a hallucination - but the physics works, and with recent new developments in materials technology, the means are also now available.

The big advantage: CHEAP cost to orbit, especially compared to rocketry. Check these articles out: one from this weeks Sunday (London) Telegraph, and the other from none other than the big gorilla of the blogosphere hisself: Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds writing on Tech Central Station.

Click on image to enlarge. (Image from liftport.com)

Stairway to heaven

The race is on to build the first "space elevator' - long dismissed as science fiction - to carry people and materials into orbit along a cable thousands of miles long.

In a significant step, American aviation regulators have just given permission for the opening trials of a prototype, while a competition to be launched next month follows in the wake of the $10 million (£5.6 million) "X Prize'', which led to the first privately developed craft leaving the Earth's atmosphere, briefly, last year.

Folks, this isn't pie in the sky conceptualizing - it's going into the engineering phase - that's about as concrete as it gets!

Space Program: Looking Up

I've written here in the past about NASA's work on space elevators, and on the new leaner, meaner, prize-oriented approach favored by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. Now there are some signs of real progress on a number of fronts. As I noted earlier, NASA was offering prizes for space elevator research. That's still going on, but there are some new studies suggesting that space elevators may be closer to practicality than previously thought.

Indeed!

I love Thursdays. Not because there's anything special about them, or because super-extra-wonderful things happen on Thursdays, but because it's my very busy day, and because at the end of every Thursday I can relax a little and look forward...

Today was my first day back at work after surgery, and blech, what a day it was. I knocked off a little early and came home and napped. Or maybe it wasn't the surgery that knocked the pins out from...

From the AP: Earlier this year, gun control advocates failed to block a Florida bill allowing people to use deadly force in the street to defend themselves. The advocates vow not to let that happen in Michigan. The battle in...

Hurricane Rita is warming up, and the city of Galveston isn't taking chances. Residents of this island city packed up mementoes and pets and started evacuating Wednesday as Hurricane Rita intensified into a Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds...

Media, blushing, takes a second look at Katrina

First was the priceless moment when General Honore told the assembled press "You're stuck on stupid!".

Later on, inaccuracy, sensationalism, and in effect rumor-mongering has been noted to be endemic in the coverage of the gulf coast hurricanes.

Several media organizations have examined, sometimes harshly, the work of newspapers and particularly cable-TV news networks. The New Orleans Times-Picayune published a lengthy account Monday of errors, misrepresentations and wildly exaggerated claims of murder, rape and abuse of children at the New Orleans Superdome. The newspaper cited publication of "scores of myths about the dome and Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials."

Meanwhile, what's that bit again about the alternative media such as the blogosphere not having responsible editorial and organizational control to insure factual reportage? Like the cases with the NYT reporters fabricating stories, and the TV networks doing the same, when not reporting forged information as fact, apparently they regard themselves as having transcended the standards they would impose on others.

A slight issue with hypocrisy here? Shocking behavior by elements of the (self)esteemed 4th estate!

From today's The Hotline:NORTH DAKOTA: Karl's Roeven, Lookin' For A Candidate? ND GOP leaders say WH Dep. CoS Karl Rove's visit to ND provided a boost, no matter what happens after his scheduled meeting with Gov. John Hoeven (R). Rove...

Just When South Dakota Looked Safe appears on the very prominent blog, Captain's Quarters. It covers the story that SDP has been following closely. It seems clear that Daschle wants to be a player in politics, and he may well...

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