the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator

the summary:
A space elevator is a massive tether attached to a satelite. Due to the rotational force, the tether is kept taut. This will cost next to no energy other then the rotational force of earth. Think of it as a jojo you are swinging around and you'll have a idea.

This taut tether can be used to very cheaply lift materials into space (hence the elevator). I think there where several projects busy with this problem (inluding MIT, but i'm not sure). This will cut the price down of cargo transportation to space from 20.000 dollars per kilo (no typo) to 400 or even 220 dollar per kg. Making the "launching" of satelites and the building of spacestations much cheaper.

Also the satellite can be fitted with solar panels, which (above the clouds) collect far more energy then on earth. The energy can be directed to earth via the tether.

However. International politics will play a major role in the development and deployment of these space elevators. The base station of such a space station has either got to be somewhere where there are not alot of storms, or a mobile base station that can be moved around.

Furthermore, base stations can be a easy target for terrorist attacks.

A country controlling a space elevator will be one of the dominant payers in space. This will inevitably lead to power struggles.

These issues are there and pose a great threat to the project. These space elevators really transcend national politics and it is much needed to think about problems arising around this reletively new technology.

does noone care about the interesting political issues around this project?

I like it, and always have since I first heard about it ten years ago, but there's not much else to say. You covered the advantages, and the vulnerabilities, I don't know what else to add.

__________________
Dr. Martin Luther King:
We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.

Negative rep score: 6 (Is that really all I get?)
Edit: (Is that all I'll ever get?)

Actually, this has been tested, in smaller versions, several times. In the early 90s, I participated in the design, launch, and recovery of a two piece satellite that, once on orbit, deployed a tether between the two pieces, creating two units over 250 yards apart. The tether served several functions - the most interesting were 1) by gently rotating the "core" satellite (using minimal power), we were able to create artificial gravity in the "outer" satellite (obviously at a significantly reduced cost). As a useful byproduct, the action of the tether moving thru space winds created sufficient static electricity charge that we were able to downsize the solar arrays.

By the way, in the "outer" satellite, we placed 12 mice, to measure the impacts of the centrifugal force being generated. One of those died on launch, and we had a second one display anamolous health telemetry, but it didn't die. Throughout the mission, we kept getting strange readings from that pod, and wrote it off to defective monitors. Upon recovery, we found that, in fact, the mouse hadn't been sick, she had given birth!! We sent up 12 and got 17 back. Tell me the US space program can't make a profit !

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Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

---- Ronald Reagan

cool, i applied for a internship at ESA just because of this project. Especially with nanotubes becoming avaiable, this technology is becoming more feasible every day.

Hopefully one day i can work on the space program, either in Europe or in with NASA, or perhaps i'm going to Mitsubishi (i think?)

It's an interesting business ... if you can get on the design and development side of it. You'll enjoy it ... you're always on the leading edge of technology.

__________________
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

---- Ronald Reagan

i have been on the bleeding edge in university. I only see it going downwards in the business. But i have no clue where to look for as a computer science major.

And it's probably not going to be ESA. They have this rule that the percentages of the employees must reflect the countries in the EU. ESA is based where i life, and because they are not going to import the janitor, i have a lesser chance of getting in (yes the janitor and the cleaners are part of these percentages)

That's where you're making your mistake -- the future of space is in private industry. Don't try to get on with ESA or NASA --- they have become custodians, just monitoring the private industry exploration.

__________________
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

---- Ronald Reagan

Sure, I love the Jetsons.

Next step the transporter. beam me up scottie

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ACCEPTANCE IS THE ANSWER!

We will knock on the door, if it does not open, we will revolt for our rights.

Im a Tarte, what! you want some of this?