A STEP FORWARD FOR SPACE ELEVATOR TECHNOLOGY:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Borrowing a page from the playbook for the X Prize spaceship competition, NASA has set aside $400,000 over the next two years for competitions to encourage the development of wireless power transmission systems and super-strong tethers.

The Beam Power Challenge and the Tether Challenge, announced here Wednesday, are the first two of NASA’s Centennial Challenges, which aim to provide incentives for technological achievements that could be applied to future space exploration.

Although the space agency will put up the prize money, the contests will be administered by the Spaceward Foundation, a California-based group that started planning the contests last year.

Power-beaming technology looks good, too. Solar Power Satellites look a lot better when you’re thinking of hydrogen cars, and when oil is over fifty bucks a barrel. I’m also happy to see NASA taking the prize approach, too.