SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Japan is taking us one step closer to a space elevator.
Elon Musk may not believe in space elevators yet, but Japan is taking a step forward to realise the dream of travelling to space by elevators instead of the traditional rocket.
A team of researchers from Japan's Shizuoka University and other institutions will conduct the first test in space this month as part of a project to build a space elevator, Japan's The Mainichi reported last week. The space elevator essentially ferries people and cargo shipments in an elevator car travelling on a cable connecting Earth to a space station.
This test is the first exploring the movement of a container on a cable in space. Two ultra-small cubic satellites measuring 10 centimeters on each side connected by a steel cable about 10 metres long will be carried from Kagoshima's Tanegashima Space Center to the International Space Station on Sept. 11.
From there, the connected satellites will be launched and a motorised container acting as an elevator car will travel along the cable and have its journey recorded via a camera attached to the satellites.
The project's technical advisor, Japan's construction giant Obayashi Corporation, is also working on a similar project, though it previously said it expects to deliver a space elevator by 2050.
(Score: 0) by MyOpinion on Tuesday September 04 2018, @08:33PM (2 children)
... would you mind showing me a time lapse video of the construction of "SkyLab"?
Also the "ISS", where is a time lapse video for that? There should be many for this pinnacle of human engineering, correct? Try as I might, found nothing. Or was there billions spent but not on videos? Why the secrecy on a civilian station?
A full, uninterrupted 24/7/365 4K should also exist, but it does not; how come the signal is lost, with 13,000 to 17,000 satellites "up there" to bounce it off of? And the "ISS tour" is also full of video cuts, why is that?
I am guessing the freshly-installed "multiplexor/demultiplexor" is not multiplexing/demultiplexing good enough. How about a "space walk" to fix it (and grab a 360 panorama while at it to finally show us where we live)?
Truth is like a Lion: you need not defend it; let it loose, and it defends itself. https://discord.gg/3FScNwc
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday September 05 2018, @01:50PM (1 child)
Right there alongside the time-lapse videos of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, etc. What would be the point? These things were built before the internet video PR fest existed. Maybe there's a few photos, perhaps even some video clips here and there, but there's no engineering reason to capture it, and the media wasn't going to air more than a few minutes at most. So all you get is whatever happened to be filmed by people with future documentaries in mind.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by MyOpinion on Thursday September 27 2018, @10:50PM
You cannot see the point of recording THE historical construction of THE alleged pinnacle of human engineering with THE insane budget that it has that has THE vantage point that shows you where YOU live?
Your "Eiffel Tower" and "Golden Gate Bridge" examples are irrelevant: not only they are not in "the vacuum of space", but they were not assembled there either. Moreover, cameras are way cheaper these days.
How did all this "skylab" and "ISS" material get there in the first place? I paid for it and I want to know: that, alone, can be a very good point.
Now, today, there are cameras covering all aspects of construction both for insurance and educational and also security purposes. There are simply too many things that can go wrong: construction workers get killed here, on Earth, all the time, and this is only part of the reason modern construction sites are constantly monitored. You want me to simply shrug and mumble "meh, nah, why record it? It's not like it is the first time ever humans are building a permanent orbital space station"? This does not make any sense.
Did you think of any of this before you gave your handwave "what would be the point" dismissal?
Truth is like a Lion: you need not defend it; let it loose, and it defends itself. https://discord.gg/3FScNwc