

A laser-powered space elevator? Seattle team leads NASA contest - cwan
http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2009/11/seattle_team_leads_nasa_power-beaming_space_elevator_contest.html?ana=from_rss

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dstorrs
As you all likely know, there is currently a 'ghost fleet'
(<http://tinyurl.com/lof685>) of huge, empty container ships anchored off of
Singapore, due to recession-induced lack of shipping demand.

I was thinking that these would make a great ocean-going launch platform for
rockets, or a mobile anchor point for a space elevator.

Having an ocean-going anchor point is good because it solves three problems
easily: you ensure that the anchor is always on the equator, you can move it
around slightly in the event of storms / upcoming changes in shipping / air
traffic / etc, and you aren't chewing up a large chunk of probably valuable
real estate.

You might cable the ships together (i.e., turn them into a giant pontoon raft)
and then put a platform over the top. Weight is not much of an issue--your
flotation would be incredible, and most elevator designs maintain an outward
pull anyway. You could convert some of the ships to act as a ferry service
bringing cargo to the elevator.

~~~
zandorg
But the biggest cost would be the elevator itself, rather than the platform
required to hold it. But still, it sounds like something from a Bruce Sterling
novel, so it gets my vote.

~~~
dstorrs
> But the biggest cost would be the elevator itself,

Of course. But the cost of the elevator itself is essentially fixed,
regardless of where you build it. The only things that vary are the cost of
the location under the anchor point and how optimal that location is.

There isn't a tremendous amount of land on or near the equator (cf
<http://www.wall-maps.com/World/PetersProjection-over.gif>); most of Earth's
landmass is well up in the northern hemisphere. You've basically got Brazil,
part of Africa, and Indonesia. When we want to build our (2nd, 3rd, ..., nth)
space elevator, we're going to need to start looking at ocean mounts. Plus, as
I mentioned, it has some built-in advantages.

------
Anon84
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=923793>

