Beam me up ... for a prize!

Nov 4th, 2009 - MSNBC

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Reed Saxon / AP LaserMotive's David Bashford, right,

prepares a robotic climber for its

Just days after $1.65 million was won in a NASA-backed rocket contest, it looks as if big money will be awarded in the $2 million Power Beaming Challenge as well.

Like the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, the Power Beaming Challenge is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges, a program aimed at encouraging new technologies that could be adopted by the space agency for future exploration. This particular competition could eventually lay the groundwork for future space elevators - but power-beaming technology is likely to be put to work even if those space elevators are never built.

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Success, frustration in Space Elevator Games
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