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My first (& maybe last) post...
The Space Elevator - always excited by this idea since I read the AC Clarke novel siting this huge tower on a (South-shifted to the Equator) Celon (OK, Sri Lanka - which apparently translates as Royal Celon...)
Eyeballing the Space Elevator website a while back I recall that the tower is no longer required - you "just" lower a cable (yea - ribbon) to an equatorial sea platform from a satellite hovering in synchronous 24hr orbit - piece of cake, really. The ballancing force is supplied by "letting out" a countermass into higher orbit.
You can drop into any orbit from a given height up the cable - although any but synchronous will require thrust if the orbit's to be circular. One of the beauties is that by climbing up high near the countermass you can in theory get thrown out to Mars and beyond. (This must what Doc Z is working on... )
I have a feeling that this will all happen, the only snag is we'll lose those spectacular rocket liftoffs forever. (Ahh, that majestic Saturn V) :;):
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