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.

http://barrassociates.com/

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