Adam posted a link to an article about new tech developments that will facilitate the building of a space elevator. I have to admit, I’ve always been kind of scared of the idea of a kilometers-long superstrong cable tethered between the earth and something lit a satellite out in space. I mean, what if the cables snap? And yes, they could. The tidal waves, the damage to the Earth, the effects in the short term at least, would be devastating. It sounds like something a bit too risky to just, you know, try on Earth. I’d rather we tried it on Mars first or something.
Still, if it was eventually working well, it’d be a very cool tech because it would bring down the cost of getting into space. It might be the best way to get stuff out there… though I think an elevator’d still be likely too hard on the body for humans to get into space that way.