1International Space Elevator Consortium

The Space Elevator, Space Launch Loop, Space Fountain,and Mass Driver in Science Fiction

Robert G. Williscroft, PhDRetired Submarine Officer, Novelist, Centennial, Colorado, 80122, rgw@argee.net

We all want the same thing: to get from down here to up there, with sufficient velocity toremain up there. A light-hearted review of some of the non-rocket options, along with a lookat how these machines have been depicted in science fiction. Accompanies the launch of thenew science fiction novel, Slingshot, telling the story of the construction of the World’s firstSpace Launch Loop.

I. Introduction

E all want the same thing: to get from down here to up there, with sufficient velocity to remain up there. Witha couple of early exceptions, Jules Verne’s 1865 space canon in From the Earth to the Moon1 and John

Munro’s 1897 electric gun in A Trip to Venus2, the traditional method we have been employing since the late 1950sis the rocket. Robert Heinlein’s D.D. Harriman had the right idea in The Man Who Sold the Moon3, but before such aprivate plan could be put into operation, the Kennedy Apollo program was initiated, a plan that put us on the Moon,and then never went back, a plan that built the International Space Station, and then lost the ability to go there.

Fortunately, men of vision have carried forward the idea that off-world travel can be a profitable enterprise –money can be made out there, lots of it. One approach that has been fairly successful during the last few years is todo what NASA did, what the government did, but do itbetter, more efficiently – in other words, cheaper. Weall have cheered on the modern rocketeers. Those of usin this room, however, know that there is a better way.

In the Sep/Oct 1975 issue of Acta Astronautica4,Jerome Pearson presented the world with the spaceelevator, the astonishing idea that you don’t need arocket to get to space. Shortly following thispublication, Arthur C. Clarke contacted Pearson to gettechnical background for the Hugo and Nebula awardwinning novel he was to publish about three yearslater, Fountains of Paradise5, a tale about theconstruction of a space elevator.

W

Figure 3. RobertHeinlein’s Man WhoSold the Moon.

Figure 1. JulesVerne’s MoonCapsule.

Figure 2. JulesVerne’s Cannon.

Figure 4. Space elevator envisioned by Kenn Brown ofMondolithic Studios.

2International Space Elevator Consortium

About two years after Pearson published his Acta Astronautica paper, Keith Lofstrom came up with the conceptof a space launch loop. He published his findings in American Astronautical Society News6. At about the same time,

Paul Birch published his concept of orbital rings in the Journal of the BritishInterplanetary Society7. From 1982 to 1983 I spent a year at the Geographic SouthPole supervising National Science Foundation atmospheric research. Nine months ofthat year was in isolation, cut off from the rest of the world. Just before we went intoisolation, I received a copy of Birch’s JBIS paper and a partial copy of Lofstrom’sAAS paper. I had read Clarke’s Fountains of Paradise4, and was fascinated by thespace elevator concept. I mourned the lack of suitable materials to construct a spaceelevator. On the other hand, a space launch loop could be built with current materials,and it was easy to understand Lofstrom’s water-hose analogy for the space launchloop. I was fascinated by how itwas possible to reduce theorbital span of Birch’s orbitalring to get a space launch loop.

The space launch loop addeda new twist for getting into

space that nobody in the science fiction field had exploited tothat point. I was a budding novelist back then, and decided towrite the first novel about space launch loops. When I cameout of the South Polar isolation, I wrote Lofstrom, informinghim of my idea to write a novel about building the world’s firstspace launch loop. Unfortunately, life intervened, and I had towait until 1996 before Lofstrom and I met in Philadelphia, andI received the technical basis I needed to write Slingshot8.Between then and now, I published a current affairs book, The Chicken Little Agenda – Debunking “Experts’” Lies9,a children’s book in cooperation with Frank Drake (of SETI fame), Starman Jones – A Relativity Birthday Present10,a novel about my submarine espionage experiences during the Cold War, Operation Ivy Bells11, and a hard sciencefiction novel that employed space launch loops, The Starchild Compact12. Finally, this year, here at the InternationalSpace Elevator Conference, Slingshot8, conceived back in 1982, will be available for you and my readerseverywhere.

In the meantime, other science fiction authors have used the entire gamut of non-rocket access to space. In theremaining time available to me for this presentation, I will tell you a bit about how science fiction authors haveemployed these devices, these incredible machines.

II. The Early Approaches

I already mentioned Jules Verne1 in my introductory remarks, although some of you might argue that his spacecannon is more like a rocket than anything else. Perhaps so, but he was not even close to being the first writer tolook at the stars and write about going there.

Arguably, the idea of building a tower into the heavens started with Nimrodand the Tower of Babel13&14 sometime between 3,500 and 3,000 BCE. Itappears again about 1,950 BCE, as related in Genesis 2815, and studies ofJewish mysticism and gnosticism16, when Joseph, the grandson of Abraham,dreamed of a ladder to heavenoutside of Bethel. That was it for along time.

The English fairy tale Jack andthe Beanstalk could be thought of asa story about a space elevator. Theearliest known appearance in print isBenjamin Tabart’s moralizedversion of 180717. Henry Colepopularized it in The HomeTreasury18 in 1842, and Joseph

Figure 5. Paul Birch’sorbital rings.

Figure 6. Keith Lofstrom’s Space LaunchLoop.

Figure 7. Turris Babel byAthanasius Kircher.

Figure 8. Jacobs Ladder byVladimir Bibikov.

3International Space Elevator Consortium

Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales19 in 1890. Jacobs’ version is most commonly reprinted today20. Then, in1895 Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, wrote in Speculations of Earthand Sky, and On Vesta21 about putting a “celestial castle” at the end of a spindle-shaped cable, with the “castle”orbiting the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit. As mentioned earlier, in his 1897 novel, A Trip to Venus2, John Munroproposed using an “electric gun,” basically a mass driver, toleave Earth’s gravity well. In 1960 another Russian scientist,Yuri N. Artsutanov22, proposed using a geosynchronoussatellite as the base from which to build the tower. By using acounterweight, the cable would be lowered fromgeosynchronous orbit to the surface of the Earth, while thecounterweight was extended from the satellite away from theEarth. In 1962 Brian Aldiss wrote Hothouse23, that envisioneda gravitationally locked Earth with one side always facing thesun, like the Moon with the Earth. In this strange world, giantspider-like plants stretch their webs between the Earth andMoon, which now has an atmosphere. Was Aldiss inspired byArtsutanov? I haven’t asked him, but suspect that he mayhave been. Seven years later American physicist JeromePearson actually designed a tapered cross-section that wouldbe better-suited to building the tower than Artsutanov’s concept. His analysis included disturbances such as thegravitation of the Moon, wind, and payloads moving up and down the cable. The weight of the material needed tobuild the tower would have required 24,000 Space Shuttle trips. As stated earlier, Pearson published his findings inthe Sep/Oct 1975 issue of Acta Astronautica3.

With Pearson’s firm scientific and engineering basis, science fiction authors began to experiment with the idea inearnest.

III. Three Major Approaches Modern Science Fiction Authors have Used

Science fiction novels dealing with space elevators, space launchloops, orbital rings, and other variations approach the matter from oneof three perspectives. The “original” space elevator novel, Clarke’sFountains of Paradise4, and the most recent novel, my Slingshot8, arebuilt around the construction of the space elevator and space launchloop respectively. This defines one of the three groups. The secondconsists of novels and stories where the space elevator plays asignificant role in the story. The last group consists of novels andstories where space elevators are a ubiquitous part of the canvas uponwhich the story plays, but they play no role other than being present,and they are used where appropriate.24

A. Six novels about constructing space elevators and spacelaunch loops.

With the current state of technology, space elevators and space launchloops have a major distinction other than their obvious physical differences.Space elevator cables use the much-debated unobtainium to give them thenecessary strength, whereas space launch loops use currently availablematerials and technology. With that in mind, six novels address theconstruction issue. Three, Fountains of Paradise4, The Web Between theWorlds, and Jack and the Skyhook, wave their hands and build the spaceelevator with one form or the other of unobtainium, with Jack and theSkyhook using perhaps the most unusual variation of this material – beansthat grow into a working skyhook. In 2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur Clarkepostulated that Jupiter has a solid diamond core, and that this materialbecomes available for constructing a solid elevator. William Forstchenbuilds his novel on the presumably successful work of the ISEC – theInternational Space Elevator Consortium. Pillar to the Sky applies

Figure 9. The Tsiolkovsky Tower.

Figure 10. ArthurC. Clarke’sFountains ofParadise.

Figure 11. CharlesSheffield’s WebBetween the Worlds.

Figure 12. ArthurC. Clarke’s 2061 –Odyssey Three.

Figure 13. DamienBroderick’s Jackand the Skyhook.

4International Space Elevator Consortium

reasonable projections to complete the story the ISEC is undertaking rightnow. Only one novel uses today’s technology, materials available today,and current computer capability to build a working space launch loop –Slingshot8, being introduced here today.

The whole world currently launches 400 metric tons to orbit peryear. Launch loops will be assembly lines to launch megatons ofpayload. The small space launch loop in Slingshot can launch 2,0005-metric ton payloads to orbit per day. That’s 10,000 metric tons perday – twenty-five times as much in one day as we currently launcheach year. The only things holding up the construction of a spacelaunch loop right now are completing required engineering studiesand waiting for the World’s launch requirements to catch up withSlingshot’s capability, in other words, its economic feasibility.

Here are the details of these six novels listed by publication date:

Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke, 1979 – The story of 22nd century structural engineer Dr VannevarMorgan, who builds a space elevator from geosynchronous orbit to a mountain top on the mythical equatorialisland Taprobane in the Indian Ocean. He overcomes the opposition of an ancient order of Buddhist monksand his own employer’s reluctance to complete the project.

The Web Between the Worlds, Charles Sheffield, 1980 – Construction of the first space elevator called aBeanstalk. Published just two weeks following Clarke’s Fountains of Paradise. Clarke graciously wrote anopen letter to the Science Fiction Writers of America stating that coincidence, not plagiarism, lay behind thefact that the two books had such strikingly similar themes. Besides the space elevator, each book had as itsmain character the world’s leading bridge-builder, and each employed a device known as a Spider.

2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur C. Clarke, 1987 – The possibility of a space elevator is realized after agroundbreaking discovery that Jupiter’s core (now in fragments around the orbit of Lucifer, the small sunformed by the implosion of Jupiter) had been a solid diamond; as the hardest substance in nature, suddenlyavailable in vast quantities, it facilitates the construction of a solid elevator rather than the more commontether structure previously envisaged.

Jack and the Skyhook, Damien Broderick, 2003 – Designed to appeal to young boys. Jack is an interstellar spacecadet who exchanges his cow for a handful of beans that become a skyhook.

Pillar to the Sky, William R. Forstchen, 2014 – Epic tale of the construction of the first space elevator. This novelis the result of a collaboration between NASA and TOR Books to produce a realistic story about constructinga space elevator in the near future. Two married scientists at Goddard Space Center are working on spaceelevator development, but lose their congressional funding. They find a private funding source and proceed tomake their project a reality.

Slingshot, Robert G. Williscroft, 2015 – (The first book in The Starchild Series) Slingshot is about constructingthe first space launch loop stretching 2,000 km between Baker and Jarvis Islands in the Equatorial Pacific.Slingshot takes the reader from Seattle’s world financial district, to the ocean bottom at 5,000 feet off BakerIsland, to the edge of space 80 km above. The story is about the triumph of achieving the impossible and theheartbreak caused by sabotage and death.

B. Twenty-eight novels and three short stories where spaceelevators and mass accelerators are central to the plot.

In the following thirty-one tales, space elevators and mass driversplay a central role in the plot. Each story is different, but each usesthe space elevator or mass driver as a central element in the sameway as other hard science fiction novels use space ships. They aremore than background color. With the protagonists, they participatein the story. For example, in Red Mars, Robinson places a spaceelevator on Mars that is brought down by terrorists. In The Songs ofDistant Earth, Clarke uses space elevators to haul huge chunks of icefrom a planet’s surface to an orbiting starship. Every story inRunning the Line – Stories of the Space Elevator is about spaceelevators, how they are used, and the distinctive roles they play.

Figure 17. ArthurC. Clarke’s Songsof Distant Earth.

Figure 16. KimStanley Robinson’sRed Mars.

Figure 14. WilliamForstchen’s Pillarto the Sky.

Figure 15. RobertWilliscroft’sSlingshot.

5International Space Elevator Consortium

Here are the details of these twenty-eight novels and three short stories listed bypublication date:

Tour of the Universe, Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards, 1980 – In 2577, theprotagonists win a prize of a tour of the universe. Includes a space elevator rising fromEcuador to an orbiting space station.Sundiver, David Brin, 1980 – A tale of intelligent creatures inhabiting the Sun. The storybegins with the main character losing his sweetheart when a space elevator crashes.The Descent of Anansi, Steven Barnes and Larry Niven, 1981, 1982, 1991 – A spacestation-manufacturing facility attempts to become commercially independent from itsGovernment backers by exporting super-strong nanowire that can only be manufactured infree-fall. The physics of tidal forces and the possibilities of orbital tethers to acceleratepayloads into higher orbits are woven into the story.The Songs of Distant Earth, Arthur C. Clarke, 1986 – A saga spanning eons. Spaceelevators are employed in the form of cables drawing huge chunks of ice from a planetarysurface to a starship.Second Star, Dana Stabenow, 1991 – A mass driver located at a lunar base is used tolaunch construction materials and other cargo to the first space habitat, in tandem with amass catcher. The use of both is involved in leading to a key plot turn.

Flare, Roger Zelazny and Thomas Thurston Thomas, 1992 – A mass driver located inside Mount Whitney in theUS is used to launch small payloads into near-earth orbit. The facility suffers major damage during a solarflare when the operator ignores warnings and distortions in the earth’s magnetic field cause a payload capsuleto hit the exit gate. The driver is described as 11 km long and using capacitor banks to deliver a two-secondpulse of 18 MWh of energy.

The Mars Trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Mars, 1993, Green Mars, 1995, Blue Mars, 1995 – Mars in threeterraforming phases, Red, Green, and Blue. A geopolitical, multigenerational saga ranging from the initialMars landings to its full development as a living planet, home to tens of millions of people. A large Martianspace elevator plays a significant role, and space elevators are also used on Earth.

Foreigner, Robert J. Sawyer, 1994 – (final book of the Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy) A space elevator built by“(human) aliens” plays a significant role in this story from the perspective of another race.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein, 1997 – Rebelling lunar colonists use a kilometers-long massdriver system that normally delivers grain to Earth instead to deliver metal-clad rocks as an orbitalbombardment system.

3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke, 1997 – In this novel, a ring habitat now exists around the Earth thatis connected to the surface via four inhabitable towers – assumed successors to space elevators.

The Science of Discworld, Terry Pratchett, Jack Cohen, and Ian Stewart, 1999– A combination of fable, science,and good story telling where Roundworld humanity escapes to the stars via a space elevator.

Sunstorm, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, 2006 – The “Firstborn,” the first sentient race in the universe, setthings up to prevent Earth’s inhabitants from moving to the stars by arranging for a huge solar storm that willobliterate life on Earth. Humans build a large shield umbrella to protect the Earth – a technology similar to aspace elevator.

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Eric Nylund, 2006 – (a military science fiction novel based on the Halo series of videogames) Features the UNSC Centennial Orbital Elevator in Havana, Cuba.

Mercury, Ben Bova, 2006 – Takes place primarily on Mercury. The sabotage of a space elevator plays asignificant role in this story of revenge.

Running the Line – Stories of the Space Elevator, edited by Brad Edwards and David Raitt, 2006 – The book is aresult of the 2nd Clarke-Bradbury International Science Fiction Competition organized by David Raitt of theEuropean Space Agency’s Technology Transfer and Promotion Office with the theme of space elevators. Thecompetition generated 109 stories and images submitted from twenty-nine different countries. The bookcontains thirty-five stories (including the winner and runner up) plus three images.

Pushing Ice, Alastair Reynolds, 2007 – The crew of the spaceship Rockhopper use mass drivers to send cometsback to earth for processing into water and other resources.

Extras, Scott Westerfeld, 2007 – The main character and a group of friends find a mass driver hidden inside of amountain, built for the purpose of launching metal into orbit to be used in creating infrastructure for thehuman colonization of other planets.

Figure 18. Runningthe Line – Stories ofthe Space Elevator,edited by BradEdwards and DavidRaitt.

6International Space Elevator Consortium

Starclimber, Kenneth Oppel, 2008 – A young person’s adventure taking place in a Victorian age dominated byairships and a space elevator that plays a central role in the story. Unfortunately, Oppel completely ignoresthe laws of physics, so that this story is not serious science fiction.

Singularity’s Ring, Paul Melko, 2008 – 90% of Earth’s population moved to an orbital ring, formed a group mind,and vanished. The remaining ten percent genetically engineer their children to form pods that function as oneentity. The pods compete to captain a starship that will search for the lost earth population. Space elevatorsalong with the orbital ring play a ubiquitous role in the story infrastructure.

The Mirrored Heavens, David J. Williams, 2008 – following a second Cold War, Eurasia and America constructa space elevator. The space elevator is destroyed by terrorists before it becomes operational. The storyfollows the search for the terrorists.

Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London, Keith Mansfield, 2009 – The main character and his sister Claradepart Earth in a secret space elevator designed to look like a downtown London building.

The Last Theorem, Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, 2009 – About a young Sri Lankan mathematician whofinds a short proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, while an alien invasion of Earth is in progress. Uses the spaceelevator first developed in Fountains of Paradise, but moved directly to Shri Lanka in this novel.

Metaplanetary, Tony Daniel, 2009 – Interplanetary civil war rages between human who enslave artificial meta-beings and those who wish to free them. Living space elevators play a significant role in the story.

Superluminal, Tony Daniel, 2009 – the interplanetary civil war of Metaplanetary continues, where the bad guyshave developed superluminal transport. Living space elevators play a significant role in the story.

Lighthouse in Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt, McDevitt, Jack & Michael Shara, 2009 –Fascinating story of a future astronomical discovery using new kinds of telescopes in space and a spaceelevator to get to them.

The Highest Frontier, Joan Slonczewski, 2011 – A college student rides to an orbital college on a space elevatorconstructed of self-healing cables of anthrax bacilli. The engineered bacteria can regrow the cables whensevered by space debris.

2312, Kim Stanley Robinson, 2011 – Thirty-seven space elevators connect Earth’s surface to orbit. Earth is nolonger humanity’s only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets,and in between. In 2312, a sequence of events forces humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future.

Between ePhemerin Skyads: a short story of a post-apocalypse space elevator, Michael Carychao, 2013 - Aroutine commute up the space elevator turns into a desperate struggle and a stunning revelation.

Failure Cascade in Selected Short Stories Featuring New Corpse Smell, Nicolas Wilson, 2013 - A failure cascade is whathappens when a space elevator’s nanotubes snap and fire off diamond shrapnel faster than rifle rounds.

Limit, Frank Schätzing, 2013 – (First published in German in 2009) A space elevator is used to transport nuclearfuel between Moon and Earth.

The Dire Earth Cycle – The Darwin Elevator, Jason M. Hough, 2013 – (1st book of a science fiction trilogy)Based on a future post-apocalyptic 23rd century Earth. An alien space vessel constructs the cord of a spaceelevator anchored on Darwin, Australia, and eventually establishing orbital colonies along the elevator cord.The trilogy is centered around the elevators and their effect on post-apocalyptic humanity.

C. Sixteen stories where space elevators and space launch loopsare part of the background, but play no central role.

In the following sixteen tales, space elevators are part of the storybackground. Like streetlights, they are present and sometimes becomeimportant for a scene, but generally, they are part of the canvas againstwhich the story plays out. For the most part, these stories assume thatspace elevators (or space launch loops) are how a spacefaringcivilization gets into space. For example, in Heinlein’s Friday, his maincharacter steps off the Kenya Beanstalk. No big deal – it’s just how it is.In Jumping Off the Planet, David Gerrold’s characters get into space viaspace elevators to carry out the plot. In The Starchild Compact, mycharacters get to the L-4 complex using the Slingshot space launchloop, a routine operation akin to flying to London.

Figure 19. RobertHeinlein’s Friday.

Figure 20. DavidGerrold’s JumpingOff the Planet.

7International Space Elevator Consortium

Here are the details of these fifteen novels and one short story listed by publication date:

Blake’s 7: Archangel, Scott Harrison, 1981 – BBC Television series and book. While in ahologram simulation of an alien city called Teshak City, a character spots the bottom of a spaceelevator connected to a promontory of rock further down the river.Strata, Terry Pratchett, 1981 – A precursor to Pratchert’s Diskworld series. The premise is anartificially created flat world with strata that hold fossils appropriately created to indicate an agevery much longer than the actual age. Space elevators are part of the infrastructure.Friday, Robert A. Heinlein, 1983 – In a balkanized U.S., a cloned female secret agent, Friday, islooking for the meaning of her life. A Beanstalk is a ubiquitous part of the story infrastructure,but plays no significant role.Across the Sea of Suns, Gregory Benford, 1984 – A very complex hard science fiction novelwhere space elevators are part of the infrastructure. Describing this story in a couple ofsentences is impossible. It is Hard SF, with the emphasis on Hard. Its scope is epic, bothphysically and scientifically.Feersum Endjinn, Iain M. Banks, 1995 – In a world where people live multiple lives, the protagonisthas survived seven times and is down to his last, leaving him one final shot at finding his killer. His

only clues point to a conspiracy that reaches far beyond his own murder, and survival lies in discovering otherfugitives who know the truth about the ultimate weapon of chaos and salvation. A space elevator is part of the storyinfrastructure, but plays no significant role.

Drakon, S. M. Stirling, 1996 – A detective story where a female from an alternative universe ends up on Earth andbecomes a fugitive who is hunted down by a detective and his love interest. A Beanstalk is part of the storyinfrastructure, but plays no significant role.

Rainbow Mars, Larry Niven, 1999 – A mixture of science fiction and Fantasy stories with space elevators as partof the infrastructure. The Temporal Research Institute retrieves Earth beasts that went extinct due to excesspollution. It turns out that the retrievals are from alternate universes.

Deepsix, Jack McDevitt, 2001 – The remains of a space elevator are found on a planet about to be obliterated by arogue moon.

Jumping Off the Planet, David Gerrold, 2001 – A juvenile novel in which space elevators are part of theinfrastructure. Brothers divorce their parent and then become targets of an interstellar manhunt.

Old Man’s War, John Scalzi, 2007 – A space elevator is part of the story infrastructure, but plays no significantrole. The story is about reincarnation, where deceased old-timers are brought back to life as futuristic soldierswith enhanced abilities.

The Night Sessions, Ken MacLeod, 2008 – A mysterious killer out of the past is killing believers and non-believers alike in a world that has marginalized religion. A space elevator is part of the story infrastructure, butplays no significant role.

The Night’s Dawn Trilogy, Peter F. Hamilton, 2008 – A sprawling narrative dealing with a far future wherehumanity wages war against past souls flooding back into the land of the living via possession. Space elevatorsare part of the story infrastructure, playing ubiquitous roles throughout the stories.

Marsbound, Joe Haldeman, 2009 – A juvenile tale of Mars with a space elevator as part of the infrastructure.Young Carmen Dula and her family travel to Mars. Carmen’s rebellious streak leads her to venture out into thebleak Mars landscape alone, where she is saved by an angel with too many arms and legs, a head that lookslike a potato gone bad, and a message for the humans on Mars: “We were here first.”

Into the Fire, Alastair Mayer, 2010 – (Short Story) The first adventure of Jason Curtis and his ship, the Starfire. Ina not-too-distant future where small starships are as common as private jets, a skilled but impulsive pilotdiscovers that it’s often easier to get himself into trouble than it to get out of it, and that sometimes the onlyway out of the frying pan is . . . into the fire. Curtis departs on his adventure from the Mars Beanstalk.

The Long Mars, Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett, 2014 – A parallel Martian world with a long-gonecivilization that used space elevators.

The Starchild Compact, Robert G. Williscroft, 2014 – (The second book in The Starchild Series) An internationalexploration team voyages to Saturn’s moon, Iapetus – which may be an artifact. While underway they dealwith a Jihadist stowaway, and upon arrival determine that Iapetus is a derelict starship. They meet with theFounders, descendants of the starship builders. Their revelations impact the entire Solar System withmomentous implications going backward and forward in time, paving the way for a joint push to the distantreaches of the Galaxy. Space launch loops play a ubiquitous background role in the story.

Figure 21. RobertWilliscroft’sStarchild Compact.

8International Space Elevator Consortium

IV. Conclusion

We have come together this weekend to examine the current status of the space elevator, and by correlation, theanalogous methods of getting into space without using rockets. That’s pretty serious stuff. I’m here to bring a bit oflight-heartedness to this conference, to help us focus on why we are investigating alternate means of getting intospace, what the dream is, and what the future may hold – and, of course, I’m also here to sell you my book that putsthis vision into real-world context for the space launch loop.

References

1 Verne, Jules, From the Earth to the Moon, Bantam Classics, New York, 1993, ISBN 978-05532142082 Munro, John, A Trip to Venus, Jarrold and Sons, London, 1897, ASIN B009ED3BHI3 Heinlein, Robert A., The Man Who Sold the Moon, Baen, Wake Forest, NC, , 2000, ISBN 97806715786334 Pearson, Jerome, “The orbital tower: A spacecraft launcher using the Earth’s rotational energy,” Acta Astronautica,Vol. 2, No. 9-10, 1975, pp. 785-7995 Clark, Arthur C., Fountains of Paradise, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1979, ISBN 97801513277376 Lofstrom, Keith, American Astronautical Society News,7 Birch, Paul, “Orbital. Ring Systems and Jacob’s Ladders,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol 35,1982, pp. 475-4978 Williscroft, Robert G., Slingshot, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2015, ISBN 978-09964669059 Williscroft, Robert G., The Chicken Little Agenda – Debunking “Experts’” Lies, Pelican Publishing, Gretna, LA,2006, ISBN 978158980352710 Williscroft, Robert G., Starman Jones – A Relativity Birthday Present, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2008,ISBN 978098216621511 Williscroft, Robert G., Operation Ivy Bells, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2014, ISBN 978098216626012 Williscroft, Robert G., The Starchild Compact, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2014, ISBN 978098216625313 The Bible, Genesis Ch. 1114 Asimov, Isaac, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible, Vol. 1, The Old Testament, Avon Books, New York, 1971, pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780380010325.15 The Bible, Genesis Ch. 2816 Verman, Mark, “Reincarnation in Jewish Mysticism and Gnosticism (review),” Shofar: An InterdisciplinaryJournal of Jewish Studies, Vol. 24, No 1, pp. 173–17517 Tabart, Benjamin, “The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk,” The Lion and the Unicorn 30.1 (January 2006:1–24).18 Cole, Henry, The Home Treasury, Chapman and Hall, London, 1847, ASIN B0008C2N4Q19 Jacobs, Joseph, English Fairy Tales, newly issued by CreateSpace, Amazon, 201220 Tatar, Maria, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2002, ISBN978039305163621 Tsiolkovski, Konstantin E., Grezy O Zemle I Nebe [i] Na Veste (Speculations of Earth and Sky, and On Vesta,science fiction works, 1895). Moscow, lzd-vo AN SSR, 1959.22 Artsutanov, Yuri, “V Kosmos na Elektrovoze,” Komosomolskaya Pravda, Moscow, 31 July 1960. (The contentsare described in English by Lvov in Science, Vol. 158, pp. 946-7, 1967.)23 Aldiss, Brian, Hothouse, Faber and Faber, London, 1962, OCLC Work ID: 2778305, Penguin, London, 2008,ISBN: 978014118955024 Following are the science fiction works referenced in Section III, listed alphabetically by author’s surname:

Banks, Iain M., Feersum Endjinn, Spectra, New York, 1995, ISBN 9780553374599Barnes, Steven and Larry Niven, The Descent of Anansi, 1982, Davis (Crosstown Publications, Norwalk, CT)

(Analog Science Fiction & Fact), 1982, ASIN B00AQ71UIS, by Pinnacle Books, Inc., New York, 1982,ISBN 9780523485423, and by San Val, Steelville, MO, 1991, ISBN 978078577 3740

Baxter, Stephen and Terry Pratchett, The Long Mars, Harper, New York, 2014, ISBN 9780062297303Benford, Gregory, Across the Sea of Suns Simon & Schuster, New York, 1984, ISBN 9780671446680Bova, Ben, Mercury, Tor Science Fiction, New York, 2006, ISBN 978-0765343147Brin, David, Sundiver, Bantam Books, New York, 1980, ISBN 9780553133127

9International Space Elevator Consortium

Broderick, Damien, Jack and the Skyhook, Word Weavers Press Pty, Bulimba, Australia, 2003, ISBN9781877073113

Carychao, Michael, Between ePhemerin Skyads: a short story of a post-apocalypse space elevator, AmazonDigital Services, 2013, ASIN B00FV2ZEJ4

Clarke, Arthur C., Fountains of Paradise, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1979, ISBN 9780151327737Clarke, Arthur C., The Songs of Distant Earth, Ballantine Del Rey, New York, 1986, ISBNClarke, Arthur C., 2061: Odyssey Three, Del Rey, New York, 1987, ISBN 9780345351739Clarke, Arthur C., 3001: The Final Odyssey, Del Rey Books, New York, 1997, ISBN 9780345315229Clarke, Arthur C. and Stephen Baxter, Sunstorm, Del Rey, New York, 2006, ISBN 9780345452511Clarke, Arthur C. and Frederik Pohl, The Last Theorem, Del Rey, New York, 2009, ISBN 9780345470232Daniel, Tony, Metaplanetary, HarperCollins e-books, New York, 2009, ISBN 0061020257Daniel, Tony, Superluminal, HarperCollins e-books, New York, 2009 ASIN B000FCK4JAEdwards, Brad and David Raitt, Editors, Running the Line - Stories of the Space Elevator, Lulu, Raleigh, NC,

2006, ASIN 0974651729Forstchen, William R., Pillar to the Sky, TOR Books, New York, 2014, ISBN 9780765334381Gerrold, David, Jumping Off the Planet, TOR Science Fiction, New York2001, ISBN 978-0812576085Haldeman, Joe, Marsbound, Ace, New York, 2009, ISBN 9780441017393Hamilton, Peter F., The Night’s Dawn Trilogy, Orbit, London, 2008, ISBN 9780316021807.Harrison, Scott, Blake’s 7: Archangel, 1981, BBC Television series. Released in book form by Big Finish,

Berkshire, UK, 2012, ASIN B00AO76Z1MHeinlein, Robert A., Friday, Del Rey, New York, 1983, ISBN 9780345309884Heinlein, Robert A., The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Orb Books, New York, 1997, ISBN 978031286355Holdstock, Robert and Malcolm Edwards, Tour of the Universe, Mayflower Books, London, 1980, ISBN

9780831787981Hough, Jason M., The Dire Earth Cycle – The Darwin Elevator, Titan Books, London, 2013, ISBN

9781781167632MacLeod, Ken, The Night Sessions, Pyr, Amherst, NY, 2008, ISBN 9781616146139Mansfield, Keith, Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London, Quercus, London, 2009, ASIN: B00EKYI4IMMayer, Alastair, Into the Fire (Short Story), AM Publishing, 2010, ASIN B00427YPVCMcDevitt, Jack, Deepsix, Harper Voyager, 2001, ISBN 9780061051241McDevitt, Jack & Michael Shara, Lighthouse jn Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt, Subterranean

Press, Burton, MI, 2009, ISBN 9781596061958Melko, Paul, Singularity’s Ring, TOR Books, New York, 2008, ISBN 978-0765317773Niven, Larry, Rainbow Mars, TOR Books, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0312867775Nylund, Eric, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, TOR Books, New York, 2006, ISBN 9780765315687Oppel, Kenneth, Starclimber, HarperCollins, New York, 2008, ISBN 978-0060850593, 400 pgsPratchett, Terry, Jack Cohen, and Ian Stewart, The Science of Discworld, Anchor, New York, 1999, ISBN

9780804168946Pratchett, Terry, Strata, Corgi, London, 1981, ISBN 9780552133258Reynolds, Alastair, Pushing Ice, Ace, New York, 2007, ISBN 9780575083110Robinson, Kim Stanley, The Mars Trilogy, Red Mars, Spectra, New York, 1993, 9780553560732; Green Mars,

Spectra, New York, 1995, ISBN 9780553572391; Blue Mars, Spectra, New York, 1995, ISBN9780553573350

Robinson, Kim Stanley, 2312, Orbit, London, 2011, ISBN 9780316098113Sawyer, Robert J., Foreigner, Ace, New York, 1994, ISBN 9780441000173Scalzi, John, Old Man’s War, TOR Science Fiction, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0765348272Schätzing, Frank, Limit, 2013, Jo Fletcher Books, London, 2013, ISB N 978-1623650445Sheffield, Charles, The Web Between the Worlds, Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, London, 1980, ISBN

9780283986642Slonczewski, Joan, The Highest Frontier, TOR Books, New York, 2011, ISBN 978-0765329561Stabenow, Dana, Second Star, Ace, New York, 1990, ISBN 9780441757220Stirling, S. M., Drakon, Baen, Wake Forest, NC, , 1996, ISBN 9780671877118Westerfeld, Scott, Extras, Simon Pulse, New York, 2007, ISBN 9781442419780

10International Space Elevator Consortium

Williams, David J., The Mirrored Heavens, Random House, New York, 2008, ASIN: B00FLIJJSAWilliscroft, Robert G., The Starchild Compact, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2014, ISBN 9780982166253Williscroft, Robert G., Slingshot, Starman Press, Carson City, NV, 2015, ISBN 9780996466905Wilson, Nicolas, Failure Cascade in Selected Short Stories Featuring New Corpse Smell, Amazon Digital

Services, 2013, ASIN B00D36KVBQZelazny, Roger and Thomas Thurston Thomas, Flare, Baen, Wake Forest, NC, 1992, ISBN 9780671721336