The Nerd Report: Space Elevator

If you’ve always dreamed of rocketing skyward in a spaceship, your dreams need an upgrade. The new hot hope for space travel is the Space Elevator. A concept that's been around since 1959, the space elevator involves hoisting people or things into space via a high-tech tether anchored between the Earth and a counterweight in orbit. While this idea makes our heads hurt, countless serious geeks are working hard to make the space elevator a reality—motivated in part by NASA, which instigated a series of contests called the Space Elevator Games, which will conclude in May. Last November, Kent-based LaserMotive took away a $900,000 prize in the Power Beaming competition for raising its vehicle 1 kilometer straight up a thin cable (attached to a helicopter) using a high-powered laser array. No word on whether Muzak was involved.