Where to Anchor My Space Elevator

Thanks to the recent discovery of handwavium ^"¡ filaments that can in principle be extruded to any length, we will be able to build space elevators sooner than most people would expect.

The interesting question is where to put it. The first state to deploy a space elevator will likely have a significant cost advantage and could potentially control all space activities.

Now I was initially considering minimizing the distance covered, so putting it on top of a tall mountain at the equator, such as Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador:

On the plus side, it would look damn cool.

But a country like Ecuador probably can't seriously consider doing this on its own, and experience with the Suez and Panama Canals suggests that maintaining control of the facility in a foreign country is not always feasible, despite any initial investment.

Moreover, the need to steer the cable in orbit around the occasional satellite that might get in the way might mean we want to be able to move the ground-socket about quite a bit, in addition to the thrusters and lasers in orbit or along the cable.

So would we rather place it in the open ocean? Perhaps somewhere in the doldrums?

That would have the advantage of being free of national boundaries, and close to sea-traffic so large objects could be shipped by sea to the elevator. But I worry about storms.

So, what is the best location for a space elevator?

posted almost 10 years ago

Serban Tanasa‭

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