Space Elevators
McNaughton 1
Evan McNaughton
Mr. Hupton
English 10 period 4
28th of January 2013 Better Take the Stairs
These are the infamous words of ambassador Spock, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Their ongoing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before"(Spock). Could space travel ever reach a level shown in the popular T.V. series Star Trek? Unfortunately no one knows yet, but the idea of space travel would be more tangible if we built a space elevator. A space elevator, or space tether, is quite literally an elevator that goes from the lobby to Earth’s upper atmosphere. A space elevator is the best way to send supplies and people to an upper orbiting space dock. A space elevator will be feasible to build, allow us to build space ships that would require a space dock, and fulfill our dream of living among the stars.
A space elevator is an old idea first theorized in 1895 by the Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of rockets. His initial idea was simply a giant Eiffel tower. However another Russian scientist, Yuri Artsutanov, created the famous space tether design. Both Yuri and Konstantin knew that a space elevator would greatly reduce the cost of sending weight into space. Kevin Bonsor of, How Stuff Will Work, has this to say, “ Non-reusable spacecraft costs approximately 10,000 dollars per pound, and a space elevator could do the job at 100 to 400 dollars per pound”(Bonsor). This is an efficiency increase of any where from 25 to 100 times.
McNaughton 2
McNaughton 2
Currently there are five different foundations that hold yearly conferences. At these conferences, competitive games are held that include the latest in space material, and climbing technology. Unfortunately NASA is considering cutting back on their funding for space elevators due to the statement of David Smitherman of NASA/Marshall 's
Evan McNaughton
Mr. Hupton
English 10 period 4
28th of January 2013 Better Take the Stairs
These are the infamous words of ambassador Spock, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Their ongoing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before"(Spock). Could space travel ever reach a level shown in the popular T.V. series Star Trek? Unfortunately no one knows yet, but the idea of space travel would be more tangible if we built a space elevator. A space elevator, or space tether, is quite literally an elevator that goes from the lobby to Earth’s upper atmosphere. A space elevator is the best way to send supplies and people to an upper orbiting space dock. A space elevator will be feasible to build, allow us to build space ships that would require a space dock, and fulfill our dream of living among the stars.
A space elevator is an old idea first theorized in 1895 by the Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of rockets. His initial idea was simply a giant Eiffel tower. However another Russian scientist, Yuri Artsutanov, created the famous space tether design. Both Yuri and Konstantin knew that a space elevator would greatly reduce the cost of sending weight into space. Kevin Bonsor of, How Stuff Will Work, has this to say, “ Non-reusable spacecraft costs approximately 10,000 dollars per pound, and a space elevator could do the job at 100 to 400 dollars per pound”(Bonsor). This is an efficiency increase of any where from 25 to 100 times.
McNaughton 2
McNaughton 2
Currently there are five different foundations that hold yearly conferences. At these conferences, competitive games are held that include the latest in space material, and climbing technology. Unfortunately NASA is considering cutting back on their funding for space elevators due to the statement of David Smitherman of NASA/Marshall 's
Bibliography: "Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators." - NASA Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. "Space Elevator." Space Elevator. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Edwards, Bradley C., and Eric A. Westling. The Space Elevator: [a Revolutionary Earth-to-space Transportation System]. Houston, TX: Edwards, 2003. Print. Kluger, Jeffrey. "An Elevator to Space Better Take the Stairs." Time [New York] 21 Nov. 2011: n. pag. Print. Boucher, Marc. "Is the Final Frontier Just One Ride Away On a Space Elevator?" Wall Street Journal [New York] 22 Aug. 2007: n. pag. Print. "Random Space Wallpaper." Space Wallpaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. "How Space Elevators Will Work." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. "Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators." - NASA Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.