The World Space Elevator Competitions (WSPEC) is an international non-profit organization that represents a global initiative to accelerate the development of space elevator technology and transform how we access space. Designed as a dynamic and engaging platform, the competitions challenge teams from around the world to push the boundaries of innovation in key areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).
Imagine a highway to the stars, a continuous bridge connecting Earth to space, offering a more reliable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly alternative to traditional rockets. That's the vision that fuels WSPEC. This concept is fueled by the understanding that as the space industry expands and demand for resources off-world grows, traditional rockets will become insufficient. We believe that by focusing on the complex engineering challenges involved in making space elevators a reality, we can spark breakthroughs that will benefit current industries while shaping our future in the direction of a space elevator.
WSPEC is structured as a series of focused competitions, each designed to drive progress in a specific area of space elevator technology. These challenges encourage teams to think creatively, collaborate across disciplines, and develop cutting-edge solutions for problems that demand ingenuity and precision.
Current competition categories include:
Climber Design: These challenge teams to design and build robotic climbers capable of ascending and descending a vertical tether, directly advancing robotics and tether technology while simulating key aspects of a space elevator system.
Power Beaming: This new competition centers on power transmission over shorter distances, evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of power delivery and reception.
Competitions are open to student and enthusiast teams. By bringing together diverse teams from universities, research institutions, and industry, the Space Elevator Games foster a vibrant community of innovators, driving progress and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space access.
History of Space Elevator Competitions
The concept of the space elevator has captured the imagination of many. The Space Elevator Games, a series of competitions focused on advancing the technologies needed to build a space elevator, played a significant role in increasing public awareness of this concept.
The first of these competitions was held in 2005 as part of NASA's Centennial Challenges. These challenges aimed to generate revolutionary solutions to problems of interest by offering incentive prizes to non-traditional sources. Two of the Challenges, Power Beaming and Strong Tether, were particularly relevant to space elevator development.
The Space Elevator Games were conceived by Israeli-American engineer Ben Shelef, who formed The Spaceward Foundation to organize and manage these events under a five-year agreement with NASA. Spaceward was responsible for devising the rules, securing venues, recruiting competitors, and coordinating activities, while NASA reviewed and approved the rules and awarded prize money.
Over the five-year agreement, four sets of competition events were held:
2005 – NASA Ames Research Center, California
2006 – Las Cruces International Airport and County Fairgrounds, New Mexico
2007 – Davis County Event Center, Layton, Utah
2009 – NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, California (Power Beaming) and Microsoft Conference facility, Washington (Strong Tether)
The prize purses offered by NASA increased significantly over the years, from $100,000 in 2005 to $4,000,000 in 2009. While the early competitions did not yield any winners, the 2009 event saw LaserMotive LLC claim the first-level prize in the Power Beaming Challenge.
Following the NASA-Spaceward Challenges, other organizations have continued to advance the field. The Japan Space Elevator Association (JSEA) has hosted the Japan Space Elevator Challenge (JSEC) climber competitions since 2009, The Japanese Space Elevator Challenge initially began at 150 meters, using a vertical tether suspended from a helium balloon. The height of the challenge was increased each year, reaching 1,250 meters in 2013. In 2020, the JSEA switched to a cliff tether system at a quarry, enabling inclined tether experiments of up to 500 meters at a maximum slope of 45 degrees.
More recently, the WARR (Germany) began hosting their own space elevator challenge in 2019, further demonstrating the growing international interest in this technology.
Through these competitions climber technology has significantly advanced, with climbing speeds nearing 200 km/h and payload capacities exceeding 100 kg. This has led to a growing demand for larger-scale climber ascent experiments using higher-altitude, vertically tethered balloons.
WSPEC aims to expand its competitions, introducing regional and global events, adding new categories, and even combining existing ones. These efforts are all geared towards fostering collaboration and accelerating technological progress in these critical fields. By uniting these efforts on a global scale, WSPEC strives to create a cohesive and coordinated approach to overcoming the significant challenges that will drive us closer to realizing a functional space elevator.
WSPEC aims to expand its competitions, introducing regional and global events, adding new categories, and even combining existing ones. These efforts are all geared towards fostering collaboration and accelerating technological progress in these critical fields. By uniting these efforts on a global scale, WSPEC strives to create a cohesive and coordinated approach to overcoming the significant challenges that will drive us closer to realizing a functional space elevator.
WSPEC aims to expand its competitions, introducing regional and global events, adding new categories, and even combining existing ones. These efforts are all geared towards fostering collaboration and accelerating technological progress in these critical fields. By uniting these efforts on a global scale, WSPEC strives to create a cohesive and coordinated approach to overcoming the significant challenges that will drive us closer to realizing a functional space elevator.
