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Bradley C. Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Bradley C. Edwards is an American physicist who has been involved in the development of the space elevator concept. [1]
|
Bradley C. Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Bradley C. Edwards is an American physicist who has been involved in the development of the space elevator concept. [1]
Dr Edwards received his PhD degree in Physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1990. [2] His thesis work was in astrophysics on the soft x-ray background. During his graduate work, he worked on x-ray micro calorimeters and several sounding rocket and Shuttle payloads.
After receiving his PhD, Dr Edwards was hired as a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was co-investigator on the ALEXIS satellite, developed superconducting tunnel junction detectors, a lunar orbiter, a Mars mission,[ which? ] a Europa orbiter and the world's first optical cryocooler. [3] In 1998, Dr Edwards began working on the space elevator concept. [4] [ citation needed ]
Edwards received funding from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts to examine the idea and published two papers in 2000 and 2003. [5] [6] He proposed methods for deploying a space elevator and overcoming perceived obstacles such as orbital debris, anchoring, climber design, and power delivery and examined construction costs and scheduling, laying the groundwork for current[ when? ] discussions. [7] [8]
Edwards also published two books on the subject, The Space Elevator: A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation in 2003 and Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator in 2006 which gained coverage on major news media. [9] [10] [11] [12]
In interviews, Edwards has estimated that price per pound of launching into low Earth orbit could be reduced to 100th the cost of Shuttle missions. [13]
Edwards spent eleven years working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, [4] researching advanced space technologies.[ citation needed ] He attempted a number of ventures associated with the space elevator concept and spent six years as a senior engineer at Sea-Bird Electronics, an oceanographic company.[ citation needed ] He has recently[ when? ] started a new company to develop carbon nanotube technology. [14]
Interplanetary spaceflight or interplanetary travel is the crewed or uncrewed travel between stars and planets, usually within a single planetary system. In practice, spaceflights of this type are confined to travel between the planets of the Solar System. Uncrewed space probes have flown to all the observed planets in the Solar System as well as to dwarf planets Pluto and Ceres, and several asteroids. Orbiters and landers return more information than fly-by missions. Crewed flights have landed on the Moon and have been planned, from time to time, for Mars, Venus and Mercury. While many scientists appreciate the knowledge value that uncrewed flights provide, the value of crewed missions is more controversial. Science fiction writers propose a number of benefits, including the mining of asteroids, access to solar power, and room for colonization in the event of an Earth catastrophe.
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The Space Transportation System (STS), also known internally to NASA as the Integrated Program Plan (IPP), was a proposed system of reusable crewed space vehicles envisioned in 1969 to support extended operations beyond the Apollo program. The purpose of the system was two-fold: to reduce the cost of spaceflight by replacing the current method of launching capsules on expendable rockets with reusable spacecraft; and to support ambitious follow-on programs including permanent orbiting space stations around Earth and the Moon, and a human landing mission to Mars.
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