Can you imagine taking like a huge tetherball on a long, long, long, rope and hauling it 60,000 miles up into space so that it just hangs there floating because of the equilibrium of gravitational forces?? And then you could climb up it like a beanstalk? Or, cooler yet, you could put like an elevator on it and powering the elevator with like a ‘power beam’ or something? And can you, like, hand me another beer? Ok, now stop laughing. This thing’s actually going to happen. One step at a time.

Showcasing representative prototypes of Space Elevator climbers, the Power Beaming challenge will continue to influence public perception of the Space Elevator project by demonstrating progressively more accurate (and more impressive!) prototypes of the Space Elevator system. By participating, you get the opportunity to partner in writing this unique chapter of history. The total NASA provided 2008 prize purse is $2,000,000, highlighting its commitment to the development of power beaming technologies.

In this challenge, Spaceward provides the race track, in the form of a vertically-suspended tether, and the competing teams provide Space Elevator prototypes, featuring climbers that have to scale the tether using only power that is transferred to them from the ground using beamed power.

The climbers net weight is limited to 50 kg [110 lbs], and they must ascend the ribbon at a minimum speed of 2 m/s. [6.6 feet per second] carrying as much payload as possible. A high performance prize will be awarded to teams that can move at 5 m/s. [16.5 fps]

Climbers will be rated according to their speed multiplied by the amount of payload they carried, and divided by their net weight. For example, a 15 kg climber, carrying 10 kg of payload at 2.5 m/s will have a score of 10 · 2.5 · / 15 = 1.67

Power is unlimited. It is up to the competitors to build the most power dense machine that they can devise. For more comprehensive specifications, please download the formal specs below.