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Arthur C. Clarke on Space Elevators

Last week in The Times (London), Arthur C. Clarker wrote a short article about the possibility of a Space Elevator. He also compares man’s exploration of space to the exploration of Antarctica (ie: we went there, let the thing rest for a few decades, and then returned with permenant research teams.)

It’s an interesting article. Nothing revolutionary; you’d probably even get more technical data from a publication like Popular Science than an editorial like this. Clarke has written a couple of science fiction stories about space elevator-like things. The one I remember best is the novel 3001: Final Odyssey, where the people of Earth have constructed equatorial skyscrapers that reach all the way into low Earth orbit.

Regardless, I like hearing what he had to say on the subject. Some of Clarke’s stories are among my favorites, namely 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Rendezvous with Rama. Oh, and he’s also the inventor of the communications satellite. Not bad for a writer.