$900,000 Awarded to Space Elevator Team

The space elevator is one step closer to reality.  Since 2005, the Spaceward Foundation has worked with NASA to sponsor the Power Beaming Challenge.  In this challenge, teams compete to be the first to perfect the space elevator, with the grand prize being a cool $2 million.

This week, a team known as LaserMotive successfully launched a laser-powered robotic climber, reaching a height of 900 meters in four minutes.  For their efforts, the team were awarded $900,000.  According to the New Scientist article, the remaining $1.1 million is being held for a climber that can top five meters per second.

The article came to my attention by way of film critic Roger Ebert's twitter feed, of all places.  Perhaps he shares my fascination with the concept of the space elevator?  He simply links the article and title; no personal take or anything.  It's a possibility, though.  The idea of an elevator to space is a pretty cinematic image (to me, at least).  The sooner this becomes a reality, the sooner people like Wes Anderson can start shooting movies in space.