'Space lift' competition takes place
Nasa is holding the Space Elevator Games in California
A competition has been held in the US to prove that creating an elevator that could be used to send people into space is possible.
The fourth Space Elevator Games were organised by Nasa and non-profit foundation Spaceward and have been taking place at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California, the former's primary base for aeronautical development and operations.
Competitors in the event are battling for a share of $2 million (£1.2 million) prize money by sending a lift around half a mile into the sky via a cable attached to a helicopter using the concept of power beaming – which involves making the system function via a laser or light aimed at Earth.
While the concept sounds like something straight out of sci-fi, it is thought that the connection of such a cable to a space station is a way of improving space travel and bringing an end to the expensive process of launching rockets.
However, according to the Associated Press, succeeding in the competition has been somewhat of a problem. No winner has been found during the previous three times it has been held.
Despite this, Seattle team LaserMotive has qualified for at least second prize in the latest event, despite falling short of the required speed of five metres a second.
