Whiplashed

Canon PowerShot SD700 IS

ƒ/2.8

5.8 mm

1/60

The team from British Columbia made the first try at the space elevator competition at the XPrizeCup, but the ribbon oscillations (building up from the light winds) were too rough for the all but the smallest climbing machine (It reminded me of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge).

Here you see the solar cell mesh meant to capture energy from a ground-based laser pointing up parallel to the ribbon that extends out past geosynchronous orbit… surrounded by the exhausted UBC students. Competition included the Kansas City Space Pirates.

5 responses to “Whiplashed”

!MimosaMicheMichelle!

Oct 27, 2006 at 5:11 am

I saw this on Discover (Canada) tonight. I saw the name and knew you were there. I even had the impression of seeing you for a moment but I knew it might be someone else.

It all was very excinting to see these experiments in competition. Too bad the difference between first and second place was determinied by a mere 2 seconds.

edit: Too bad the the Saskatchewan team. No prize but they do get second place.

The first link does not work for me.

Seen on your photo stream. (?)

Reply
jurvetson

Oct 27, 2006 at 3:53 pm

Thanks… Maybe it was me if you saw a goofy looking guy with a camera standing on a big plastic barrel (in the Red Bull reception area) or along the fence line.

The first link works for me. It is a good site photos. The link is:
http://www.elevator2010.org

Reply
!MimosaMicheMichelle!

Oct 27, 2006 at 5:01 pm

Take a look at the video at
http://www.discoverychannel.ca/dailyplanet/
click broadband on the top menu. Ask for full screen. It might be another video after tonight so look for it. X-prize space elevator race shown on October 26 2006. You also have Watch online on the menu on the left. Maybe they will show other segments from the x-Prize show later.

A few second into the introduction, we very briefly see from a distance on the right a man that looks like you standing against a fence. It might be someone else but when I saw it, I thought it might be you. But, hey, it is not like and and I and all the others are not used to seeing you in photographs! LOL

Daily Planet at Discovery Channel (discoverychannel.ca) is always very interesting and a fun way to learn about science and the new technological advances as well as a good place to keep up with the related news! Usually, when we see any report on technology on the CTV national news at 11 pm, it was produced for Daily Planet and initially shown there. Even if you do not watch television as I know is the case, you have the option of watching all the segments shown each night (7 days a week) on the Internet.

The link still does not work for me either in Firefox which I mostly use or Opera which I also like or Internet Explorer. I pasted the link but I keep getting an error.

Seen on your photo stream. (?)

Reply
jurvetson

Oct 27, 2006 at 5:25 pm

Strange. Try googling for Space Elevator XPrize and see if there is another way there.

Maybe there is no longer free trade between the U.S. and Canada.

This is what I get when I go to your link:

SORRY! You can’t play Discovery Channel Canada video in your country.

Reply
!MimosaMicheMichelle!

Oct 28, 2006 at 10:54 pm

Strange, today, the link works everywhere! Cool photos, thanks!! I will look at more later.

Seen on your photo stream. (?)

Reply

Whiplashed

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