Success in 'space elevator' competition by Magdalena Rosova

On Wednesday a $2 million technical competition which tested the potential reality of the science fiction concept of space elevators took place in Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. The interesting contest involved teams from Missouri, Alaska and Seattle which brought their robots to the Mojave Desert, known as a space shuttle landing site. The machines were supposed to climb nearly 1 kilometer up a cable dangling from a helicopter. LaserMotive's robot powered by ground-based laser beam climbed to the top in only four minutes, immediately repeated the feat and so qualified for a second-place prize. Nick Burrows, team member, said that the robot had never climbed highe! r that 80 feet previously. Two principals of LaserMotive, Jordin Kare and Thomas Nugent, said this success is a real reward after two years of hard word and added that their real goal is not the futuristic idea of accessing space through an elevator climbing cable. Their real aim is to create business based on the idea of beaming power. However, the competition proved that beaming power works. That means they would be able to deliver power to anybody who needs power in one place and can not run wires to it. Before the competition, it took hours to test the cable system and refuel the helicopter. The team Kansas City Space Pirates went first, but their machine was to slow to win any price. The contest was founded by a NASA program to explore bold technology, it took five years to prepare the competition. In future space elevator ought to be a new way to reach space without expensive rockets.

related story (sgx15834): http://www.spaceelevatorgames.or! g/...

by Magdalena Rosova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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