The
Space Elevator is conceived as a 100 000 km ribbon of carbon nanotubes
extending into space up which climbers will travel to release payloads
into different orbits. From the fairytale 'Jack and the Beanstalk' to
Arthur C. Clarke’s 1979 novel 'The Fountains of Paradise', the idea of
a Space Elevator has captured the imagination of scientists, engineers,
writers and artists alike.
The Second Clarke-Bradbury Science Fiction Competition, managed by the
Maison d’Ailleurs (CH) and the OURS Foundation (CH), had two categories
- science fiction story and artwork – which had to relate to a Space
Elevator and incorporate technologies and applications in some way.
From a total of 109 stories and images submitted from 29 different countries, the winners are:
Story category: Clever by Christian Doan, a writer and artist living and working in Melbourne, Australia.
Image category: Frank Lewecke from Nuernberg, Germany for his image entitled Africa Tower - the African Space Elevator.
The runners-up are:
Story category: Scott Rolsen from Denver, USA for his work entitled Ervin's Watch.
Image category: Richard Bizley, an artist from Lyme Regis in England, for his image entitled Rising at Dusk.
The Clarke-Bradbury SF Competitions help raise the awareness about ESA
and how technology can be used in innovative ways. An important aspect
of the Competitions is to try and foster an interest in young people in
science and technology in general and space activities in particular
because of the decline in young people studying the sciences. Details
of the competition and winning entries can be found on ESA’s Technology Transfer pages.
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