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The official newsletter of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC)
Our mission statement:
"...ISEC promotes the development, construction and operation of a space elevator as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity..." |
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| ISEC e-Newsletter | www.isec.org
| February 2014
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Dear Friend,
Welcome to the February, 2014 edition of the ISEC eNewsletter.
In this issue's President's Corner, ISEC President Dr. Peter Swan mentions the blustery winter that many of us have been experiencing and goes on to relate that to various environmental issues that a Space Elevator will have to deal with too.
Work has now started in earnest in planning the 2014 Space Elevator Conference. We will be holding it in the same venue as we have for the past few conferences, Seattle's Museum of Flight. We've booked the rooms, paid the down-payment and are now busy making plans to have the best conference yet. It's not too soon to begin making plans to attend - summer will be here before you know it!
This issue also contains information about the official Call for Papers for the 2014 issue of CLIMB, the only Journal devoted solely to the Space Elevator and also discusses and links to recent articles about the Space Elevator and related topics in the news.
And don't forget to LIKE US on Facebook, FOLLOW US on Twitter and enjoy the photos and videos that we've posted on Flickr and YouTube - all under our Social Identity of ISECdotORG. Thank you! ISEC |
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 The President's corner
This winter has been so over whelming across the world, it reminds me of the power of mother nature. I once learned from a friend of mine who worked with rivers and damns, "Water goes down hill, and you can not stop it!" This comes home to me when I am thinking about all the future issues for a space elevator development. Luckily we have had some year-long studies addressing the space elevator and its development. This year's [2013] study report is about to be released and addresses the first forty kilometers of the climb. This arena is definitely hazardous with winds, rain and electromagnetic effects. The present solution is to place the climber inside a protective box, which only ascends to outside the atmosphere as a shield. The protective box then returns to the surface, on its own, after the tether climber has initiated its climb from 40 km to GEO. I mention this to stimulate interest in our report that will be released at the yearly conference in August.
"Keep Climbing my Friends!" Pete Swan
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 CLIMB Volume 3 - Call for Papers
The window is now open for authors interested in submitting papers for Volume 3 of CLIMB, the only Journal devoted solely to the Space Elevator. Abstracts may be submitted between now and March 31st, 2014 to [email protected]. ISEC is interested in publishing both technical papers, subject to peer-review along with " Additional reading" papers; documents that might be of interest to a reader interested in the Space Elevator. Volume 1 of CLIMB was dedicated to Yuri Artsutanov, the Russian engineer who was the original inventor of the Space Elevator structure that is the model today, while Volume 2 of CLIMB was dedicated to Jerome Pearson, the American engineer who independently invented this concept and put into place much of the scientific and mathematical underpinnings for this tensile-based structure. Volume 3 of CLIMB will be dedicated to Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the person who more than anyone else has popularized this concept. Volumes 1 and 2 of CLIMB were well-received and may be purchased at the ISEC store. CLIMB is also a benefit for ISEC members; members at the Professional level and above receive both the print and electronic versions of CLIMB while student members receive the electronic versions of CLIMB as part of their membership benefits. Information about how to format the Abstract can be found at the ISEC website, along with the Paper template and a publication schedule. |
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 Dates set for 2014 ISEC Space Elevator Conference ISEC is very pleased to announce the dates and venue for the 2014 ISEC Space Elevator Conference. The Conference will be held from Friday, August 22nd, 2014 through Sunday, August 24th. The Venue will the same place we've had the conference the past two years, Seattle's Museum of Flight. This has turned out to be a wonderful venue for the Conference and we are thrilled to be able to host the Conference here again. Details will be announced in a future issue of this eNewsletter and will be available on the Space Elevator Conference website. Mark you calendars now - be there or be square! |
 Space Elevators in the New Recently, David Leonard posted an article at www.space.com discussing the recently released IAA report on Space Elevators (last month's eNewsletter contained an extensive article about this report). This article has been picked up in many outlets, even appearing in Andrew Sullivan's The Dish. When information like this makes it to outlets like that, you know that the idea of a Space Elevator is becoming more acceptable. Now, if we can just get the scientists and engineers to come up with those "long, strong tubes"... Incidentally, Mr. Leonard's article highlights the graphic-design work of ISEC's own Frank Chase. Frank has designed the past several ISEC posters, covers for Volumes 1 and 2 of CLIMB, the Space Elevator Journal, and has also contributed other artwork to space-elevator related publications.  The next step in cleaning up space debris is underway. A joint NASA/JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) satellite will host a tether designed by JAXA, a tether that will generate electricity as it passes through the earth's magnetic field and will, hopefully, slow down debris in the vicinity enough so that it will eventually burn up in the atmosphere. Space debris is a recognized hazard for a Space Elevator and cleaning it up will hopefully allow the Elevator tether to experience longer lifetimes before having to be replaced. Incidentally, ISEC released an extensive study on Space Elevator Survivability and space debris and it is available at the ISEC store. |
 ISEC and NSS join hands... The National Space Society and the International Space Elevator Consortium signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 15 August 2013. This understanding between these 501(c)(3) organizations illustrates the strength of ideas and committed volunteers. Recently the NSS released a "Milestones to Space Settlement," or a roadmap to the future. The presented vision is: The National Space Society ("NSS") is a nonprofit educational organization whose Vision is: "People living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity."
This Vision embraces both space as a future second home for humanity and the resources of space (such as the Sun's energy for space-based solar power, extra-terrestrial minerals for raw materials, and low-gravity for manufacturing) being used for the benefit of all of us on the Earth. These two elements of the Vision are intertwined: development of space products and services for the people of Earth will both require human presence in space and will enable and motivate expansion of our species away from the home planet.
The partnership of two visionary organizations should strengthen each other's activities. As the ISEC has a similar mission, the two organizations should have many common projects and ideas. "... ISEC promotes the development, construction and operation of a space elevator as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity ..."Due to their shared interest, as shown by their mission statements and vision, the two organizations, working together, should be able to contribute even more to the widespread economic development of space and the betterment of mankind. |
What is ISEC?
 The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is the result of a coming-together of many leading figures and organizations who have worked long and hard over many years to promote the concept of a Space Elevator. With organizational members in the United States, Europe and Japan and individual members from around the world, ISEC's goal is nothing less than to get a Space Elevator built. Our Mission Statement says it all: "ISEC promotes the development, construction and operation of a space elevator as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity"Each year we adopt a theme which we use to focus our activities for that year. For 2009-2010, our theme was Space Debris Mitigation - Space Elevator Survivability. For 2010-2011 our theme was Research and thought targeted towards the goal of a 30 MYuri tether. For 2011-2012, our theme was Operating and Maintaining a Space Elevator. For 2012-2013, our theme was Tether Climbers and for 2013-2014, our theme is Architecture & Roadmaps. If you agree that building a Space Elevator should be a priority for all of us and you want to help make this happen, please Join Us ! Benefits include eNewsletters (such as this one), the ISEC Journal CLIMB and other items listed on our Join page. Come and join us and help make the future happen! The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is a registered 501c3 charitable organization (EIN 80-0302896)
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Thank you, Corporate Sponsors !
The lifeblood of any organization such as ours is the support we receive from our members - and we thank them all. We especially want to thank our Corporate Sponsors who have contributed funds and resources to ISEC at a higher level. |
| Visit ISEC on the Web
Visit our website at www.isec.org. There you can join learn more about what is happening in the Space Elevator community and what is being done to advance the concept of a Space Elevator. Please consider joining ISEC - we foster research and sponsor Space Elevator-related causes, but to do so takes money. Your contributions are crucial to our success. Thank you! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you can also sign up to be on our mailing list so you don't miss a thing! |
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