Will the Japanese Build the First Space Elevator?

First envisioned by the celebrated master of science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke, in his 1979 work The Fountains of Paradise, the concept has all the best qualities of great science fiction: it is bold, it is a leap of imagination and it would change life as we know it.

Aurthur C. Clarke gave us a lot, decades ago he envisioned electronic devices floating in outer space and maintaining a geostationary orbit; we used that concept to pioneer satellites. The Japanese are prepared to take another one of Clarke's visions to the drawing board - the space elevator.

The space elevator is the most simple "why didn't I think of that" concept for space travel I have ever heard of. Basically, we stick a landing pad in space that acts like a satellite and we tether it to the Earth with a long, sturdy cable/ribbon. Then, we ascend the cable to the floating station in space and, viola, easy space travel. No rockets, no fuel, a rather simple method. In this article, James D. Miller argues that this would be the best way to get to the moon.

The problem is in the cable. There is no way, currently, to manufacture the necessary tether that would connect the orbiting station to the Earth and hold the weight of travelers, but engineers thrive on opportunities like this.

I would like to see our politicians get into this and start encouraging engineers to come up with solutions, but right now the Japanese are getting on board.

Link.