Do you know what a space elevator is? If you do not, it is what the words imply, minus cheesy elevator music (we hope, anyway). The idea for such an elevator to space has been around for over a 100 years and it regularly appears in science fiction. In real life, Michael Laine from Liftport in Seattle has looked at how to bring this into reality for the last twenty years or so. Join our conversation to learn about the current status and outlook of space elevators!

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The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space

If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/

If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.

Episode notes: 0:00 Intro 2:09 Michael's Background 8:51 What is a Space Elevator? 14:26 Space elevator history 18:41 Location in space 20:28 Energy sources 23:04 Dangers and hazards 27:11 Other kinds of space elevators 34:57 Do we have the technology to make a lunar elevator? 38:46 What do relevant entities like NASA think about the idea? 44:15 Michael's thoughts on current state of New Space 48:31 Other tech, like space elevators, that may have been under-focused on / forgotten 51:36 Science Fiction