LiftPort Startup Plans Space Elevator On The Moon

LiftPort Startup Plans Space Elevator On The Moon

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - by Joshua Gulick
If you’re at all interested in space exploration, you’ve probably already heard of LiftPort, the company behind the Space Elevator, which has been in the works for the better part of a decade. The plan is to build an elevator that travels along a high-tech ribbon between the Earth and a platform in space, and another that tethers a platform to the moon. Ships could then move from one to the other. Far-fetched as it might sound, the elevator has received plenty of attention from the burgeoning space industry – including NASA, which provided the initial research. Now, LiftPort is asking for your help achieving an important step in the overall project: Tethered Towers.

According to Michael Laine, LiftPort’s founder, it’s easier to build from the moon tether than the Earth tether. But before the Lunar Elevator portion of the project gets underway, LiftPort is undertaking an experiment that doubles as training for the LiftPort team’s new members: Build a test platform with high-altitude balloons and create a robot that can climb 2 kilometers to the platform.

Space Elevator

That’s the project being funded by initially by Kickstarter, and it’s already passed the goal of $8,000. In fact, the project is sitting at more than $21,900 with 15 days to go. If you want to get in on the action, check out the rewards at KickStarter.
Via: KickStarter | News Archive | Tags: KickStarter, LiftPort, Space Elevator
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By JOMA on Aug 28, 2012

It would be amazing if something like this was to actually be implemented but I just don't see how they're going to do it. Is everyone going to just have to remember to avoid the cable when they're in the area flying? How do they attach it on site and then get it back to earth? Can't they just start working on teleportation??

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By DAndrews on Aug 28, 2012

Ummm... no. The plan is for a space elevator on either the moon or Earth, or both... there is no tether idea between the moon and earth as that would be imposable for far too many reasons to list, not the least of which is the rotation of the earth and the moons elliptical path around it… or even the wobble of both the earth and the moon. Space elevator, not tether.

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By Joshua Gulick on Aug 28, 2012

Ouch! You're right, DAndrews, thanks for the heads up. I corrected the story. Thirty pushups for me.

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By InsideSin on Aug 28, 2012

What I found interesting is that Ouya the console raised more money on Kickstarter than this "space elevator" with a whoping 8 million compared to the measly $21,900.

@JOMA, that raises the question though.. in teleportation, are YOU really being moved? Or are you being destroyed in one place and a clone of you is recreated somewhere else? I guess it depends on the method.

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By Diggity0 on Aug 28, 2012

"The space elevator will be built about 50 years after everyone stops laughing".

--Arthur C. Clarke

Has it been 50 years already?

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By DAndrews on Aug 28, 2012

sorry Joshua... wasn't trying to be a *** with the way I worded that... Thanks for correcting :)

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By nicoletoledo on Aug 28, 2012

Interesting but it will take years to build and even years to going to be tough.

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By Inspector on Aug 28, 2012

Is there any practical use for this? besides being able to have a astronaut walk over to the moon? lol

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By ErazmusNZ on Aug 30, 2012

Hah, novel idea. It would be interesting to see how they planned to handle all the obvious risks including the most obvious "Lift(er)" malfunction. Ever been stuck in a gondola. Nice view for an hour or so, but ... how long do you think it would take to get someone up there to make repairs? :D

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