Editor’s Note
Dear Fellow Space Elevator Enthusiast,
The ISEC Student Challenge is proceeding to plan (see https://www.isec.org/events/isecchallenge), with ten papers just received from semifinalists. Some appear to be of a very high standard; our judges are now reviewing them in detail. We hope to announce the finalists in the May newsletter. After that, they will move on to the video presentation stage.
The Chinese film, The Wandering Earth II, was released in January to limited theaters. It is a story about a bold plan to drag the earth from its orbit away from the aging sun that is expanding to a size that will threaten all life on the surface. It features a space elevator that uses rockets to propel equipment up the tethers. Watch a clip of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyPLUlJCZg. It is a prequel to the movie, The Wandering Earth.
Sandee Schaeffer
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President’s Corner
Every sport has an opening day—Thursday, March 30th, was opening day for U.S. baseball. Of course, there are various days for football (for both the U.S. and the rest of the world). It turns out they are very similar in so many ways—specifically for veterans and rookies. We can imagine ourselves being out there on the “pitch,” ready to take on the full season of experiences leading to the concluding championships. What will the season be like? What will be my performance? In the past, we came so close, but only one team can win! These are all the things dreams are made of in the sporting world. You can remember your team winning the championship, or perhaps coming close, obviously an important phase of your life—to participate as a teammate in a remarkable run towards the trophy.
Well, the parallel is true within teams taking on significant challenges in the “real world” of architecture, engineering, production, construction, operations, transportation, and business creation. Our situation is similar to that of a sports team about to start a full season. We have many veterans and a few rookies each year with dreams of excelling. This year may be amazing for space elevators in that we have progressed rapidly and our body of knowledge is vast. Our reports, articles, and studies have led us to this pivot point where the needs of the many will match the capabilities of the few. We are ready to reach out to our future customers and explain how space elevators will significantly enhance their future dreams and hopes. At this point, there are two activities that will require both veterans and rookies. We need the rookies to join us, develop the baseline architecture, and start the engineering development arena. In addition, some of those new players in our space elevator community will be needed to assist with interactions around the world: governments, NGOs, corporations, universities, and start-ups. We will need veterans with tremendous skill sets inside our small community to reach out to other communities. How do we approach global issues facing the human race while developing the realization that space elevators are vital to Earth’s future?
Space Elevator veterans and rookies have considerable challenges in front of them as we reach out to mesh with the needs of the global community. How can we help with current and future significant issues? How do we define our customers? How do we work with our future customers to define their needs and what we can provide? We need ideas and concepts. Please think about this and send a note to me at https://info@isec.org
Pete Swan
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Read on............
- Call for Educators
- Tether Materials
- Space Elevator Perspective, Part 3
- Mid-Year Interns Announcement
- History Corner
- Poetry from an AI
- Upcoming Events
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