PMN1 said:I cant see Europe or the US being happy to rely on another country for the cheap access to space an elevator shoudl give - they will build their own on territory they control.
French Guinana comes to mind...
PMN1 said:I cant see Europe or the US being happy to rely on another country for the cheap access to space an elevator shoudl give - they will build their own on territory they control.
Good points, but the political arrangements would be tricky. It would have to be put under UN jurisdiction, since any country attempting to claim sovereignty would be blocked from doing so by everyone else--it's not like the US president can point at a map of the Pacific Ocean and say "Here, this spot is now American territory. Got a problem with that?"Johnestauffer said:Actually the 'floating' site makes a lot of sense.
Granted everything has to come by ship, but larger amounts of cargo can be moved to and from the site. (Cargo will have be to transported to where ever the elevator is - why not by ship)
There is a certain safety factor involved as well. If there was an accident, the 'fallout' would be on unoccupied ocean rather than settled areas.
PMN1 said:The Russians, Chinese and Japanese keep using their northern launch sites for conventiona launch vehicels despite the obvious disadvantage to launch performances to the money making orbits while ESA went to French overseas territory.
Hendryk said:Good points, but the political arrangements would be tricky. It would have to be put under UN jurisdiction, since any country attempting to claim sovereignty would be blocked from doing so by everyone else--it's not like the US president can point at a map of the Pacific Ocean and say "Here, this spot is now American territory. Got a problem with that?"
Faeelin said:A Question: What would happen if the elevator was knocked over?
I think you mean Kim Stanley Robertson, not Ben BovaPMN1 said:If its a ribbon as some of the current suggestions plan then it shouldn't do much at all - its in the FAQ's on the links i've posted (i have another but its at home and i cant rememeber it off hand).
Ben Bova had a falling Mars Space elevator causing havoc in Red Mars but the curent thougts are much different from his.
Johnestauffer said:Actually the 'floating' site makes a lot of sense.
Granted everything has to come by ship, but larger amounts of cargo can be moved to and from the site. (Cargo will have be to transported to where ever the elevator is - why not by ship)
There is a certain safety factor involved as well. If there was an accident, the 'fallout' would be on unoccupied ocean rather than settled areas.
One sci-fi technique for building the space elevator is to 'mine' space and build the elevator down from space using space materials.
Do you anticipate transfering all the material necessary for construction up from earth?
Where will you get the shuttles required?
Flocculencio said:This "obvious disadvantage...to money making orbits" combined with Singapores track record of political stability is just why I could see the Japanese, Chinese, Indians and Aussies getting in on a project with Singapore as Hendryk has said.
And a consortium like that would probably build it faster, cheaper and more efficiently than the Western countries. Singapore's probably one of the best options for a politically neutral international "spaceport".
Scarecrow said:I think you mean Kim Stanley Robertson, not Ben Bova
PMN1 said:Yes, which is why the instant it becomes possible there will probably be a mad rush to be the first - there isn't currently the market for even one but at the costs associated with a Space Elevator, the market should grow massively - someone on another site pointed out this is truely a 'field of dreams' venture - and I cant see Europe or the US wanting to loose out to any other international consortium.
Flocculencio said:First or second you probably would see a second "Space Race". All I'm saying is that Singapore is a logical and very strategic point for any Eastern Hemisphere consortium.
PMN1 said:I fully agree that its a logical place but logic doesn't alway win over politics even when it has physics on its side?
Flocculencio said:Once again politics in the West, yes- I fully agree with you on that.
However, in the East, Singapore is the best choice and neutral ground for all parties in the hypothetical Sino-Japanese-Indian-Aussie-Singaporean consortium. You seem to be going on the assumption that there will only be one space elevator under sonctruction. While the americans are building theres in the Pacific and the EU is working on theirs in Guania a parallel project might well be going on in Singapore.
And once the three are up it's Singapore which has the existing infrastructure and position as a global trade centre to win out.
But if its anchored to a ship, well, that ship is American property.Hendryk said:"Here, this spot is now American territory. Got a problem with that?"
DominusNovus said:But if its anchored to a ship, well, that ship is American property.