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I have to say the idea blew my mind the first time I read about it. And what amazed me even more was the fact that there are people out there who have thought this idea through to great depths (or heights). Many people actually believe we may see this idea fructify within our lifetimes.

Picture courtesy wikimedia.org

A space elevator is a proposed structure designed to transport material from a celestial body‘s surface into space. Many variants have been proposed and all involve traveling along a fixed structure instead of using rocket powered space launch. The concept most often refers to a structure that reaches from the surface of the Earth to geostationary orbit (GSO) and a counter-mass beyond.