any of various proposed structures extending from the earth upwards for many miles as a means of transporting materials into space, esp. one consisting of a tether linked to a geosynchronous satellite orbiting the earth; cf. orbital tower n.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the Russians had come up with the same idea quite independently—the Space Elevator.
He would not presume to criticize the engineering aspects of the space elevator.
At last we can build the Space Elevator—or the Orbital Tower, as I prefer to call it. For in a sense it is a tower, rising clear through the atmosphere, and far, far beyond.
The first space elevator? That was indeed ancient history; it marked the very beginning of planetary colonization by giving mankind virtually free access to the Solar System.
Just what the hell are they doing out there, building an extra space elevator or something?
The man who devised the first ‘space elevator’ was an engineer from Leningrad named Yuri Artsutanov, and he had done it way back in 1960.
This apparently made the south rim of Pavonis the perfect tethering point for a space elevator, as it was both directly on the equator, and twenty-seven kilometres above the datum.
Given the acute population and environmental problems on Earth, and the space elevator currently being constructed there to match the one already on Mars, the gravity wells could be surmounted and mass emigration would certainly follow…
Most of the other towns had been left in ruins, but Sheffield’s location remained the ideal place for tethering a space elevator.
We'll hold onto it until it’s worth more. Or until they build that space elevator.
He sat in the bar until his flight was called, chatting with a couple structural engineers whose company also had a share in the construction of the space elevator.
The island is the perfect spot for a space elevator.
The space elevator carrying her to the Aries had finally breached Earth’s atmosphere and she reached orbit.
antedating 1975
A. C. Clarke 'Future Space Programs'
Last modified 2020-12-16 04:08:47
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