Monday 2 July 2007

Lifting satellites: space elevators or HARP guns?

There's an article at Slashdot about the LiftPort space elevator.
I think this sort of research is fascinating. While I'd be the first to admit I don't expect to see a space elevator in the next ten years (or probably even forty), it's driving some good research and I think will have value in other ways. Airships could be making a comeback, and the space elevator concept could be useful for lifting items up to them.

There's no mention in the Slashdot story of Project HARP. This is a fascinating research project to essentially fire satellite payloads into space using a very large gun.

This idea was driven by a controversial scientist (Gerald Bull) who was subsequently assassinated. Following this, the funding offered by the American and Canadian authorities was stopped.

While I think the LiftPort ideas are interesting, I believe the future of the high altitude gun is much more attainable.

6 comments:

Brian Dunbar said...

While I think the LiftPort ideas are interesting, I believe the future of the high altitude gun is much more attainable.

More attainable for technology sake or for legal and political reasons?

grcm said...

Neither :-)

I'm not considering legal/political reasons here- while some would argue that having the gun equivalent of an ICBM is dangerous, they're not considering the big picture.
Technology for technology's sake is also a dead-end.
There is though a viable market in lifting things into space, be they people or satellites, and this gun is potentially an efficient way to do so.
Once they've found a way to stop the people turning to mush from the momentum.

Unknown said...

nike free, mulberry, ray ban pas cher, new balance pas cher, hogan, converse pas cher, hollister, ralph lauren pas cher, coach outlet, michael kors, lacoste pas cher, true religion jeans, sac longchamp, north face, michael kors, hermes, nike trainers, true religion jeans, nike roshe, burberry, timberland, nike roshe run, nike blazer, true religion outlet, nike air max, vanessa bruno, louboutin pas cher, hollister pas cher, nike free run uk, longchamp pas cher, replica handbags, air max, lululemon, oakley pas cher, michael kors, coach outlet, ralph lauren uk, true religion jeans, nike air max, vans pas cher, tn pas cher, north face, sac guess, air jordan pas cher, coach purses, michael kors, ray ban uk, nike air max, air force, abercrombie and fitch, nike huarache

Unknown said...

ugg boots uk, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, moncler, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, moncler, moncler, louis vuitton, canada goose outlet, hollister, louis vuitton, moncler, barbour, moncler, sac louis vuitton pas cher, ugg pas cher, karen millen, louis vuitton, lancel, bottes ugg, canada goose, canada goose uk, gucci, replica watches, juicy couture outlet, wedding dresses, coach outlet, montre pas cher, pandora charms, louis vuitton, converse outlet, moncler, links of london, barbour jackets, thomas sabo, toms shoes, canada goose, pandora jewelry, swarovski, pandora charms, marc jacobs, canada goose, moncler outlet, supra shoes, juicy couture outlet, doudoune canada goose, moncler, swarovski crystal, canada goose outlet, canada goose, ray ban, pandora jewelry
ninest123 16.03

yanmaneee said...

golden goose
balenciaga
jordan shoes
goyard
yeezy
goyard
golden goose sneakers
supreme hoodie
supreme outlet
goyard handbags

sateaur said...

En savoir plus sacs réplique gucci imp source Chrome-Hearts Dolabuy mon avis ici acheter des répliques sacs en ligne