Issue (WIWE) status: Submitted, Unpublished

Weak Signal's progress: Fully-fledged

This Weak Signal came from: 
European Commission Framework Programme for RTD

The theme/scheme related to this Weak Signal: 
Theme 9 - Space

The sub-theme that best relates to this Weak Signal: 
Space technologies

When did the Weak Signal manifest ? 
before 2000

Weak Signal's description: 

Several innovative ideas published over the years point to potential alternatives to conventional space propulsion and may revolutionise space travel (e.g. by using much less energy). A well-known (but hard to realise) concept (inspired partly by Science Fiction) is the "Space Elevator", which may become feasible thanks to carbon-nanotubes cables. As a potentially more practical alternative, a recent scientific paper proposed a giant inflatable tower that could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator.

What makes this Weak Signal interesting? It reveals technological and/or scientific anomalies; It reveals economic anomalies