The Space Elevator
There was once a time when having the first man step foot on the moon was a daunting task and one that many people thought was certainly impossible. Now that several men and women have boldly gone where so few have ever gone before, engineers have their sights set on the future — an elevator to space. LiftPort Group, headed by former NASA researcher Michael Laine, said it could build an elevator to the moon using technology that is already available. With another Japan-based company making the same claim, one can only wonder if the next great space race will be a race to build the first elevator into outer space.
Orbital Maglev
This transit system literally takes other public transportation out of this world. It would essentially be a rail system in space and allow riders to travel freely from outer space back to Earth. With the idea of “space tourism” becoming a hot trend for researchers, the idea is an interesting one. Based on today’s technology, however, it will be quite some time before the expensive project is ever brought to life.