The Space Elevator:

[jeffreyab]

Via The Timeshredder and with commercials but interesting to look at:


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25907397#25740647

Comments

[mrgoodwraith.livejournal.com]

A great dream and I wish them luck, but they have huge technical issues to sort through yet (not least of which is "how do you keep all of our existing satellites in lower-than-geostationary orbit from crashing into it?"), and that $10 billion price tag is laughably optimistic.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

I had similar thoughts, they do have those big lasers for pesky satellites.

[wpeters.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that the sea-borne platforms at the base would shift the whole thing out of the way of possible collisions - assuming they had time.

I think beanstalks are by far the coolest thing I've ever come across in real life, more breathtaking than even the Great Wall of China. It's also a very, very cool video. However, I can't help thinking that it's highly unrealistic. "Our generation Will go to Space" - I very much doubt it, but future ones might - just not to the extent that the video suggests. A forest of elevators? I'm not convinced.
Still, with oil running out, 'beanstalks' might be the only way to make it outside the atmosphere before long :)