According to physicist Bradley Edward, it costs about $10,000 per lb to launch something into space, but a working space elevator would lower the cost to about $100 per lb.
The problem is that we don't have any material that is strong but light enough for the cable. Scientists are working on it but there's still a long way to go.
Another option is a mass driver, basically a giant rail gun.
Carbon nanotubes would have a lot of other applications, too, so it's definitely worth researching. Even if they never reach the limits they would need for a space elevator there would still be lots of uses for them.
I'm only mildly optimistic about them as a material choice for a space elevator. Like wesleydodds mentions, they're useful in other contexts, but a space elevator still pushes their theoretical limits too hard for me to consider them a good choice.
I'm not saying it can't be done with carbon nanotubes. I'm just not overly optimistic.
Comments 4
Another option is a mass driver, basically a giant rail gun.
Reply
Not optimistic about funding, though. I think that's the bottleneck right now.
Reply
Reply
I'm not saying it can't be done with carbon nanotubes. I'm just not overly optimistic.
Reply
Leave a comment