Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
For sure, even a conservative estimate would put a space elevator at an order of magnitude cheaper per kg vs. rockets.. and two orders of magnitudes if you listen to the pie in the sky guys.
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Yep. One of the biggest problems with space exploration is that the vehicle needs to carry it's fuel with it which adds to the weight and amount of fuel neccessary to propel it. The chemical propellent also needs to be safe and compact which reduces it's potential and cuts down on range.
Along with the ideas of ground-based propulsion (some kind of laser that will push a vehicle into space and beyond), the space elevator can be powered by cheap, plentiful, and powerful ground based forms of energy. Perhaps even the earth's rotation can be used to transport objects into orbit and then objects can remain in place while the earth rotates around where the objects can be dropped back down into a different location on the planet down another elevator.