(Editors Note: Earlier today, my colleague at Future Blogger, Dick Pellitier, had a thoughtful piece on the prospect of a space elevator.
I would like to add my two cents to this debate. The following article
was written this past fall and originally appeared on
TechCentralStation).
In the fall of 1825, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton boarded the Seneca Chief and
traveled 500 miles from Buffalo to New York City to mark the opening of
the Erie Canal. It was the beginning of an enterprise of immense
economic and political significance in that it expanded the reach of
American commerce and established New York as one of the world’s leading
financial centers.
It is easy, in retrospect, to think the canal’s success was ordained
from the beginning. It wasn’t. In 1810, when DeWitt Clinton, then mayor
of New York City, first proposed building the 363-mile, 83 lock canal,
Gouverneur Morris, responded by saying “Our minds are not yet enlarged
to the size of so great an object.” Another Founding Father, Thomas
Jefferson, was more biting in his criticism, writing to Clinton, “It is a
splendid project, and may be executed a century hence. It is little
short of madness to think of it this day.”
Jefferson’s reasoning was solid. The project was budgeted to cost $6
million—a sum then equal to three-fourths of the federal government
budget. In fact, the scale of the project was so massive that it was
determined it would be the biggest public works project since the Great
Pyramid and would consist of digging and removing over 11 million cubic
yards of earth. It is no wonder that many decried it as “Clinton’s
ditch.”
Fortunately, Clinton persisted and while he wasn’t able to persuade the
federal government to support the idea, he did win over the citizens of
New York and in 1817 the state legislature approved the funding for the
project.
Amazingly, the canal was completed on October 26, 1825—two years ahead
of schedule. More impressive still, the state’s debt off was paid-off in
a decade’s time.
With this little bit of history in mind, let me now introduce you to a modern-day equivalent of the Erie Canal: the space elevator.
To many, the idea of constructing an elevator into geosynchronous orbit
might be, to echo the words of Jefferson, a splendid project a century
hence but little short of madness today. Nevertheless the idea is
beginning to elicit consideration from a growing number of serious scientists.
In its simplest form, the elevator would consist of a ribbon of
super-strong carbon nanotubes be tethered to a large platform located
near the equator and attached to a space structure at the other. To get
from earth to space a cab would climb the ribbon. (Further details can
be found at http://www.spaceelevator.com)
Without question a great many obstacles must be overcome in order to
achieve this vision, but they are just that: obstacles. They are not
barriers. Ironically, as with the Erie Canal, the greatest barrier may
not be technical in nature but rather political—namely, our leaders (and
perhaps our country) have lost their ability to think big.
But like the Erie Canal, a space elevator would be more than just a
testament to good old-fashion American ingenuity and know-how. It would
have broad, practical economic and political ramifications. For
instance, just as the Erie Canal lowered the cost of shipping a ton of
flour from $120 to less than $6, a space elevator could similarly open
up space by radically reducing the price of hauling the equipment and
supplies into orbit. Today, it costs anywhere between $10,000 and
$20,000 to launch a single pound of material into space. With a space
elevator, replacing and updating the communication and satellite
infrastructure upon which modern society is now so dependent would be
fast, inexpensive and easy.
Beyond this, if America is serious about establishing a permanent
presence on the moon and, ultimately, Mars; this country will need a
dramatically more efficient process for delivering cargo and personnel
into a space. Our present system of using individual rockets is about as
efficient as hauling flour by horseback.
It has been estimated that a space elevator can be built for $12
billion. It is a large amount of money to be sure, but so too was the
Erie Canal. Thanks, however, to some farsighted and courageous
leadership a profitable canal was built and, in the process, it turned
the course of history. How fitting then if on October 26, 2025—the
bicentennial of the opening of the Erie Canal—America could send a group
of people into space on an elevator. It is possible but first we must
enlarge our minds to “so great an object.”
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Let’s Debate the Future, Please
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business.
He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends,
nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership
to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and
trade associations.
