国际太空电梯协会(ISEC)近日发布了第一份研究报告，包括2011年太空电梯研究会议的详细内容。会议将于8月11至14日在华盛顿微软公司会议中心举行。《太空电梯生存条件》报告研究了太空垃圾的处理和运送，深入分析了一系列问题，为以后太空电梯的建立打下基础。了解更多信息，请浏览网址www.isec.org。

太空电梯的由来：

图为太空电梯设想图

　　太空电梯于1895年由科学家齐尔考夫斯基提出，他设想建立太空电梯连接地球表面和地球同步轨道。1960年的《航空报》提出了在地球同步轨道上建立拉膜结构的方法。
　　太空电梯的作用是进行专业设备和人造卫星等物资的太空运送，而目前的火箭运送方式成本太过昂贵。
　　太空电梯系统概念中包括一条来凝结地球表面和同步轨道的缆绳，太空电梯的主体结构必须位于地球同步轨道上面，才可保证整个系统与地球保持同步运转。
　　一个在安装在缆绳上的运送装置将用于输送物资至空间站或人造卫星，太空电梯计划使用光能源,例如激光能或太阳能作为动力。

ISEC ANNOUNCES 2011 CONFERENCE, REPORT

　　The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) has announced the publication of the first ISEC Study Report, along with details on the 2011 Space Elevator Conference. The conference will be held August 11-14 in Redmond, Washington, at the Microsoft Conference Center. In addition, the report Space Elevator Survivability -- Space Debris Mitigation is the culmination of last year's research into the theme of space-debris mitigation and delivers an in-depth analysis of a wide range of topics, all of which impact the success of a space elevator. For more information, visit website: www.isec.org.

The Idea of the Space Elevator

　　The fundamental idea of the Space Elevator goes back to 1895, when the scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky considered building a tower from the surface of the Earth and reaching into the geostationary orbit of space. The Artsutanov paper – 1960 – proposed a way to build a tensile structure to the geostationary orbit of space.
　　The aim was and still is, among other objectives, to deliver payload - for example equipment, items, satellites etc. - to space in an economically viable way. This idea could be an alternative solution to the expansive use of rockets.
　　The actual concept of the space elevator system includes a tether reaching from the surface of the Earth to the geostationary orbit. A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator, with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period. To keep the tether taut by means of gravitational and rotational forces, the centre of mass of the space elevator has to be kept above this orbit.
　　A climber is attached to the tether, which carries the payload up to the space station or to the satellite. The energy supply is planned to be realised by power beaming (such as laser), as well as using solar cells.