Here is a project that could push us into the forefront in space exploration. Laughing? This is not a joke.
Firstly what is space elevator. Essentially a space elevators would be made up of a long cable attached at one end to a point on the Earth surface and the other end to a geostationary satelite 36,000 kilometers in space. Centripital force of this orbiting satelite would pull the cable taut and hence enabling it to act as a tether on which payloads could travel along like an elevator. This could effectively render all Earth launched rockets and space shuttles obsolete.
Ok, so how is this project something that we are in a position to excel in? Firstly the stationary point on Earth; it has to be in the equator. Being just 1°17'35" north of the equator we are right smack in the the belt for space elevator ground base.
Next – the cable. Here is where the challenge is. At this point in time – no material is sufficiently strong and extremely light enough. We are talking about a 36,000 kilometer cable suspended from space. This futuristic material may already exist! Carbon nanotubes. It is 100 times the strenght of steel. The current challenge is to refine it’s compostition to make it stronger and lighter and to come up with a technique to manufacture 36,000 kilometers of it – Unbroken!. Here again is where we come in. This is something akin to rocket science and as challenging as putting man on the moon; but not beyond our capabilities. We will not be able to built a rocket but we have the facilities and resources to come up with a production method to make a functional carbon nanotube cable. We have the material scientists and engineers.
So may I suggest to the EDB – let us start the Singapore Space Elevator poject rolling.
how much profit and space we are talking about?