Space elevator to the moon in eight years
28 Aug 2012 7:32 AM IST
A space elevator which can take robots and humans to the surface of the Moon ‘can be built today’ as the technology already exists, a former NASA engineer has claimed.
The firm Liftport set up by Michael Laine has launched an online campaign to fund the first part of its project to build a lunar space lift, the Daily Mail reported.
The radical Liftport system would allow cheap and simple access to the lunar surface via a ‘ribbon’ cable. Eventually it is hoped a ‘space elevator’ could even take people from earth directly to the lunar surface.
It first plans to test the system on earth with a 2km high elevator.
Initially it would use a space elevator to link the moon to a space station.
The LiftPort Group wants to raise USD 8,000 on the crowd-funding web site Kickstarter for its first step – creating a floating balloon platform tethered to the ground so that a robot can climb 2 km into the sky.
‘About six months ago we had a fundamental breakthrough – a breakthrough we think will transform human civilisation – and we want you to be a part of it,’ Laine, president of the LiftPort Group of the firm’s fundraising site, said.
The breakthrough will allow the LiftPort group to build a space elevator on the moon using existing technology and a single-launch rocket solution that has ‘Sputnik-like simplicity’, Laine added.
He added that the concept could become a reality within eight years.
The ambitious goal of raising USD 3 million – a target Laine doesn’t expect to hit in the first Kickstarter – would allow the LiftPort Group to carry out a one-year feasibility study for the moon space elevator project.
The Liftport system would first send a ‘base’ spacecraft into orbit. A ‘ribbon’ elevator cable would then shoot out towards the lunar surface, containing a lander module to attach to the moon’s surface.
The lunar lander would then be drilled into the surface, forming a link between the moon and the base station.
The firm Liftport set up by Michael Laine has launched an online campaign to fund the first part of its project to build a lunar space lift, the Daily Mail reported.
The radical Liftport system would allow cheap and simple access to the lunar surface via a ‘ribbon’ cable. Eventually it is hoped a ‘space elevator’ could even take people from earth directly to the lunar surface.
It first plans to test the system on earth with a 2km high elevator.
Initially it would use a space elevator to link the moon to a space station.
The LiftPort Group wants to raise USD 8,000 on the crowd-funding web site Kickstarter for its first step – creating a floating balloon platform tethered to the ground so that a robot can climb 2 km into the sky.
‘About six months ago we had a fundamental breakthrough – a breakthrough we think will transform human civilisation – and we want you to be a part of it,’ Laine, president of the LiftPort Group of the firm’s fundraising site, said.
The breakthrough will allow the LiftPort group to build a space elevator on the moon using existing technology and a single-launch rocket solution that has ‘Sputnik-like simplicity’, Laine added.
He added that the concept could become a reality within eight years.
The ambitious goal of raising USD 3 million – a target Laine doesn’t expect to hit in the first Kickstarter – would allow the LiftPort Group to carry out a one-year feasibility study for the moon space elevator project.
The Liftport system would first send a ‘base’ spacecraft into orbit. A ‘ribbon’ elevator cable would then shoot out towards the lunar surface, containing a lander module to attach to the moon’s surface.
The lunar lander would then be drilled into the surface, forming a link between the moon and the base station.
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