Laser-powered elevator to space hits some snags

Nov 4th, 2009 - Boston

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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—A laser-powered robot failed to complete its climb up a long cable dangling from a helicopter Wednesday in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the science fiction concept of space elevators.

The highly technical contest brought teams from Missouri, Alaska and Seattle to Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert, most familiar to the public as a space shuttle landing site.

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Beam me up ... for a prize!
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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in...
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Nov 4th, 2009 - Washington Post
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A laser-powered machine has zipped thousands of feet up a cable dangling from a helicopter in a competition to develop space elevator technology.
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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - Rocketing into space? Some think an elevator might be the way to go. That's the future goal of this week's $2 million Space Elevator Games in the Mojave Desert. In a major test of the concept...