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Space Pirates news - Major new sponsor! Print E-mail

More good news. 

We added another major sponsor. We are happy to announce that Barr Associates will be coating mirrors for us. The steering mirror is a critical part of our system and regular mirrors just can't cut it at 8 Kilowatts of power. Barr Associates has many years experience in high performance coatings. They will be delivering a mirror that is telescope quality and 99.99+% reflective. This mirror would have been the single biggest expense for us without their support. So we send them a hearty THANK YOU! and you will be seeing their logo proudly displayed on our materials.

Barr-logo.png



Less than good news.

We still are not making fast enough headway in the programming dept. And as usual we are starved for cash.

Other good news.

We have climbers buzzing along cables strung up in the garage, we have the optics system ready for another round of testing as we narrow it into the final configuration. Our tracking system keeps passing our tests with flying colors.

News about the competition.

The balloon concept has proven non pratical so the organiser has switched to a helicopter. The safety issues of the manned helicopter are being worked out now. Turns out helicopters have been used similar to this in the past.
I am happy about this as I consider the helicopter more predictable than the balloon. I think the safety issues will be answered. Although the lasers are powerful enough to be dangerous to a helicopter, practical power beaming configurations use the laser in a manner that is somewhat less potent.

The target venue is still meteor crater but we will be moving to the edge of the crater instead of the bottom. I think that would be an excellent spot.


Brian Turner
 
Space Pirate news 5-9-08 Print E-mail
The Conan Show was a big hit. I managed not to choke and remained rather articulate through the 5 min interview. We did not however get to cover the competition, the team or the sponsors. They were on the list but I had no idea how fast time would fly. I felt that I was on for only 30 seconds. We clearly managed to inform thousands of viewers about the space elevator and raise awareness. I saw a big jump in web site visitors but only received 1 small donation. The show will be re-run at least once so even more may come of it. I will keep you posted. You can go watch the video on the NBC site if you missed it. We mechanically steered an beam! It was just a laser pointer and only in 1 dimension. Still it is a small but significant step in our mission. We are planning to go to the ISDC (International Space Development Conference) in Washington DC at the end of this month. I plan on meeting with potential supporters there and hopefully securing the funds needed for the rest of this year. 
 
Space Pirate News April 30 2008 Print E-mail

Big news. We have landed National Instruments as a sponsor. For those of you who don’t know them, they make the coolest automation software out there (LabVIEW) and all the hardware to go with it. Having high quality software and hardware will make this task far easier than it would have been otherwise and National Instruments is second to none.

Drum roll please ….

I am going to be interviewed about the Space Elevator on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Date Friday May 2nd

Time: Very late. After the Tonight Show - Around 11:30 in Kansas City

I have read reports estimating 2 million viewers. Needless to say I am excited and nervous. I am not sure how much the space elevator has been discussed on national network TV but this is clearly a big opportunity. Hope I don’t blow it.

Brian Turner
Captain, KC Space Pirates

 
Space Pirates update 2/13/08 Print E-mail

Well our trip to San Jose was a success.  After meeting with two laser companies we are happy to announce that we have an agreement to use the TRUMPF Trudisk 8002 industrial laser. This laser is the pinnacle of Industrial laser power and performance. It has an output of 8 kilowatts. We are very excited to have access to this laser.

The drawback is that the color of this laser is not well matched with the best solar cells. Our research has led us to believe we have a solution to this issue. We are going on an expedition to Detroit next week to test the underlying tech.

The issue we are struggling with now is how to aim the laser. It’s awesome power level requires exotic optics and/or special tactics. It would be no problem if we had $150,000 to throw at it. But because we have chosen not to be full time fund raisers we are looking for more creative solutions. This keeps with the spirit of the competition but of course represents a possible major barrier to our success. I will have to keep you posted on our progress in this area.

Brian
Captain
KC Space Pirates

 
Space Pirates update 1/8/08 Print E-mail
The sails are up and the trade winds are a blowin'!

We have done some testing with low power lasers horizontally at 1km. We have lined up two different Solar cell providers depending on what laser we end up using. We have one or two answers for every technical challenge we have anticipated. We have a few parts for the '08 climber in house that are awaiting testing along with some sketches of where to put them.
Our focus has been in making sure we have a viable plan, but the fund raising environment seems warmer than last year.

We have recruited some more expertise this year to make sure we have all the skills needed.

We are heading to a trade show called Photonics West in San Francisco. It is the biggest show of it's type and all of the major Laser vendors will be there. As well as most of the optical suppliers we will need.

We have decided to plan for the full $2 Million prize at a speed of 5 Meters per second.

Even with the shortened schedule this year we are ahead of where we were the last 2 years.

All in all, progress is good and this may be the best year to be a Space Pirate yet!

Thanks again for all of your support.

Brian Turner
Captain
 
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