Editing Space elevator (section)

=== Innovations and designs ===
The space elevator concept reached America in 1975 when [[Jerome Pearson]] began researching the idea, inspired by [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s 1969 speech before Congress. After working as an engineer for NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory, he developed a design for an "Orbital Tower", intended to harness Earth's rotational energy to transport supplies into low Earth orbit. In his publication in ''[[Acta Astronautica]]<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |author=Pearson, J. |year=1975 |title=The orbital tower: a spacecraft launcher using the Earth's rotational energy |url=http://www.star-tech-inc.com/papers/tower/tower.pdf |journal=Acta Astronautica |volume=2 |issue=9–10 |pages=785–799 |bibcode=1975AcAau...2..785P |citeseerx=10.1.1.530.3120 |doi=10.1016/0094-5765(75)90021-1}}</ref>'', the cable would be thickest at geostationary orbital altitude where tension is greatest, and narrowest at the tips to minimize weight. He proposed extending a counterweight to 144,000 kilometers (89,000 miles) as without a large counterweight, the upper cable would need to be longer due to the way [[Gravity|gravitational]] and centrifugal forces change with distance from Earth. His analysis included the Moon's gravity, wind, and moving payloads. Building the elevator would have required thousands of [[Space Shuttle]] trips, though material could be transported once a minimum strength strand reached the ground or be manufactured in space from [[Asteroid mining|asteroidal]] or [[In-situ resource utilization|lunar ore]]. Pearson's findings, published in ''Acta Astronautica'', caught Clarke's attention and led to technical consultations for Clarke's science fiction novel ''[[The Fountains of Paradise]]'' (1979),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Arthur C. |title=The fountains of Paradise. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |year=1979 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |isbn=9780151327737}}</ref> which features a space elevator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boucher |first=Marc |date=2013-04-08 |title=The Space Elevator: 'Thought Experiment', or Key to the Universe? |url=https://spaceref.com/newspace-and-tech/the-space-elevator-thought-experiment-or-key-to-the-universe-by-sir-arthur-c-clarke/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=SpaceRef |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edwards |first=Bradley C. |date=2004 |title=A Space Elevator Based Exploration Strategy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1649650 |journal=AIP Conference Proceedings |volume=699 |pages=854–862 |publisher=AIP |doi=10.1063/1.1649650|bibcode=2004AIPC..699..854E |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The first gathering of multiple experts who wanted to investigate this alternative to space flight took place at the 1999 NASA conference 'Advanced Space Infrastructure Workshop on Geostationary Orbiting Tether Space Elevator Concepts'. in Huntsville, Alabama.<ref name=":0"/> D.V. Smitherman, Jr., published the findings in August of 2000 under the title ''Space Elevators: An Advanced Earth-Space Infrastructure for the New Millennium'', concluding that the space elevator could not be built for at least another 50 years due to concerns about the cable's material, deployment, and upkeep.<ref name="Smitherman">{{cite report |editor-last=Smitherman, Jr. |editor-first=D.V. |date=August 2000 |title=Space Elevators: An Advanced Earth-Space Infrastructure for the New Millennium |url=https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/2000-Space-Elevator-NASA-CP210429.pdf |publisher=[[NASA]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328040627/http://www.nss.org/resources/library/spaceelevator/2000-SpaceElevator-NASA-CP210429.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-28}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2024|reason=Lengthy document; please provide applicable page.}}

[[Bradley C. Edwards|Dr. B.C. Edwards]] suggested that a {{convert|100,000|km|mi|abbr=on}} long paper-thin ribbon, utilizing  a carbon nanotube composite material could solve the tether issue due to its high tensile strength and low weight <ref name="EDWARDS_PHASE_I_2000_472Edwards.html">[[Bradley C. Edwards]], "[http://www.niac.usra.edu/studies/472Edwards.html The Space Elevator]".</ref> The proposed wide-thin ribbon-like cross-section shape instead of earlier circular cross-section concepts would increase survivability against meteoroid impacts. With support from [[NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts]] (NIAC), his work involved more than 20 institutions and 50 participants.<ref name=":3">{{cite report |last=Edwards |first=Bradley C. |author-link=Bradley C. Edwards |date=2003-03-01 |title=The Space Elevator: NIAC Phase II Final Report |url=http://images.spaceref.com/docs/spaceelevator/521Edwards.pdf |publisher=Eureka Scientific}}</ref>{{rp|2}} The Space Elevator NIAC Phase II Final Report, in combination with the book ''The Space Elevator'': ''A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation System'' (Edwards and Westling, 2003)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradley C. Edwards; Eric A. Westling |title=The Space Elevator: A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation System |publisher=BC Edwards |year=2003 |isbn=9780974651712}}</ref> summarized all effort to design a space elevator<ref name=":3" />{{Page needed|date=August 2024|reason=Lengthy document; please provide applicable page.}} including deployment scenario, climber design, power delivery system, [[Space debris|orbital debris]] avoidance, anchor system, surviving [[atomic oxygen]], avoiding lightning and hurricanes by locating the anchor in the western equatorial Pacific, construction costs, construction schedule, and environmental hazards.<ref name="Edwards" /><ref name="Smitherman"/>{{Page needed|date=August 2024|reason=Lengthy document; please provide applicable page.}}<ref>Science @ NASA, [https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast07sep_1.htm "Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919070924/https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast07sep_1.htm|date=19 September 2008}}, September 2000.</ref> Additionally, he researched the structural integrity and load-bearing capabilities of space elevator cables, emphasizing their need for high tensile strength and resilience. His space elevator concept never reached NIAC's third phase, which he attributed to submitting his final proposal during the week of the [[Space Shuttle Columbia]] disaster.<ref name=":0" />