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..."
ISEC e-Newsletterwww.isec.org
May 2014
In This Issue
The President's Corner
New ISEC Study released
Registration now open for the 2014 Space Elevator Conference
ISEC represented at 2014 ISDC Conference
ISEC and NSS join hands...
What is ISEC?
ISEC Corporate Sponsors
Visit ISEC on the Web
Follow ISEC!
Quick Links
Dear Friend,

 

Welcome to the May, 2014 edition of the ISEC eNewsletter.

 

In this issue's President's Corner, ISEC President Dr. Peter Swan talks about the importance of Involvement - getting active with ISEC and Space Elevator activities.  ISEC has many activities ongoing and we can always use volunteers.  If you are interested, please email Dr. Swan at pete.swan@isec.org.

 

Also in this issue, we announce the release of the latest ISEC study; this on Design Considerations for Space Elevator Tether Climbers.  The latest in a series of these studies, this one concentrates on how a Tether Climber might operate and is a "must-read" for all those who take an active interest in space elevator technologies.

Dr. Swan also represented ISEC at the recent NSS/ISDC Conference in Los Angeles - more details are shown elsewhere in this eNewsletter.

 

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
The President's Corner

Involvement - this simple word has a very large impact when accomplished with the appropriate amount of sharing, knowledge, championship, and listening.  I believe ISEC members must become involved within their own communities as spokespersons for our ISEC efforts and space in general. We have many things to celebrate and enjoy: the yearly conference with keynote speakers, new committees to become involved in [history and research teams have kicked off activities], CLIMB Journal focused upon Sir Arthur C. Clarke coming up, and this year's study - Architectures and Roadmaps.    As one who enjoys participation, I hope to stimulate more involvement from our ISEC members inside their own spheres of influence.  Any ideas?

"Keep Climbing my Friends!"  Pete Swan
New ISEC Study released

Each year, the International Space Elevator Consortium prepares a study on a specific topic relating to the Space Elevator.  This latest study is entitled "Design Considerations for Space Elevator Tether Climbers" and it has just been released.  It can be purchased from the ISEC store or directly from the publisher, Lulu.

The Executive Summary of this report begins as follows:

"The 2013 ISEC study report addresses a critical aspect of the space elevator infrastructure: the tether climber.  The tether climber will leverage 60 years of spacecraft design while incorporating aspects of traditional terrestrial transportation infrastructure..."

The study is organized as follows:
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Tether Climber Operational Phases
  • Chapter 3: Sub-System Description
  • Chapter 4: Power Sources
  • Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations
Previous studies include "Space Elevator Survivability - Space Debris Mitigation" and the "Space Elevator Concept of Operations".  All of these reports can be purchased via the ISEC Store or Lulu.com.
Registration now open for the 2014 ISEC Space Elevator Conference

ISEC is very pleased to announce that Registration is now OPEN 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.

Mark you calendars now - be there or be square!
ISEC represented at 2014 ISDC Conference

Dr. Peter Swan, President of the International Space Elevator Consortium, presented twice at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles during 16-18 May, 2014.  The two topics that were well attended with discussions following were:
  • "Impact upon Humanity from a Space Elevator Perspective."
  • "Potential Impact of Space Elevators upon Development of Space Solar Power Development."
In addition, he signed many copies of the recently released International Academy of Astronautics report entitled, "Space Elevators: An Assessment of the Technological Feasibility and the Way Forward."
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?

ISEC LogoThe 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)
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!

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