Space elevator climb test at MIT in 2005

On a snowy, gusty fall day on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge, MA, little "Squeak" climbs just over 300 feet on a ribbon suspended from the roof of a tall building while several hundred observers watch both from the ground and from the windows of a nearby building. The climb text coincided with a Students for the Exploration of Space (SEDS - http://www.seds.org ) conference being held at MIT (http://www.mit.edu ).

MIT security required that the lifter robot have a safety line attached in case it fell. Unfortunately, the wind caused the safety line and ribbon to entangle with the robot, which came to a stop before reaching the top. However, within moments, "Squeak" broke the safety line and kept climbing - much to the relief of the LiftPort team - and completed the climb successfully.

This was the first and only public demo of the system and it was the last climb up a building. At this point we had learned everything we could from climbing the side of a building. We had to climb higher - i.e., use balloons.

While at MIT, we also forged couple of interesting relationships: the MIT carbon nanotube lab & a budding relationship with the Air Force.

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  People & Blogs

[Joe Matthews]

This is not a good idea.

[ElevatorToSpace]

Joe, I'm curious WHAT you think "is not a good idea". It's hard to answer your comments when you're not specific. Thanks for your interest in what we're doing.

[EVanimations]

With $8 to you, good sirs, you have my support and a bit of my MONEY! Just promise me the elevator music doesn't suck.

I'm really excited for this, I just hope the car is faster, the ribbon is more taut, and it's just all-around less...wobbly.

[ElevatorToSpace]

It will be less 'wobbly', but that testing we're doing now is in a windy Earth environment. The real system should be much more stable. (And thanks for the KS support. All 3000+ Member cards will be going into the mail in March.

[EVanimations]

Well, if they make sure the cable is taut enough that should avoid some wobbling problems. Also, this is going to be the "Sputnik" of space elevator tech; it's not much, but this will prove such a thing is possible. Hopefully world leaders will bite and soon we'll have them competing to create the best, $multi-billion space elevator.

[Tim Cummings]

A high intensity laser could ignite the air underneath the car until it exits the atmosphere. Or perhaps there can be two or more cables threaded through the car and as they seperate, a series of pulleys moves it up and down like a bead on a necklace. Or hot air balloons can lift it to the upper atmosphere, conserving a tremendous amount of energy, and once terminal lift is achieved nitrogen boosters slowly accelerate it along a maglev system. I could think of more...

[3Helium3]

Energy will be built through attraction like a rail gun...but in this case it would be shooting an elevator up. The problem I see is speed control and coming to a stop and I am sure those problems can be solved quite easily. Saying that though magnets can just a easy bring something to a stand still as they can propel it.Maybe it would not work but to me it's a good enough thought.

[Dethmasheen]

And how will the magnets generate energy? Building the elevator to serve as dynamo at the same time would make it too heavy.

[3Helium3]

To someone like me magnets is definitely the most efficient way to do it with back up plans ofc solar could be one or solar and magnets could work together