Plans for Space Elevator

[Jadeite]

That's pretty cool. And I like the pictures. I don't think that 40 million will be enough of a budget though.

yeah, it does seem a bit small for so huge a project., but this thought just occurred to me: the 40 million could be to just get the project started, once the government or organization funding it is committed, then they can ask for an increase.

[Raptor 597]

That's pretty cool. And I like the pictures. I don't think that 40 million will be enough of a budget though.

yeah, it does seem a bit small for so huge a project., but this thought just occurred to me: the 40 million could be to just get the project started, once the government or organization funding it is committed, then they can ask for an increase.

I think it was stated earlier it was for R&D. Or do you think R&D'll cost more than 40 million?

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

That's pretty cool. And I like the pictures. I don't think that 40 million will be enough of a budget though.

yeah, it does seem a bit small for so huge a project., but this thought just occurred to me: the 40 million could be to just get the project started, once the government or organization funding it is committed, then they can ask for an increase.

I think it was stated earlier it was for R&D. Or do you think R&D'll cost more than 40 million?

Yes, the $40 million was earmarked for materials research. Just to figure out if they could actually construct carbon nanotubes of the the prerequisite length and strength.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

How much would it cost? I'm guessing a few hundred billion.

I would imagine something like that would cost closer to a trillion dollars. But I could be wrong. What would power the thing?

I dunno. They'll probably use solar panels in space.

You'd have to use solar power in space, and whatever power generation method happens to be nearby on the ground. Can't run current down through the cable to the ground station. Imagine the transmission losses.