Imagine that you need to go into orbit, or you need to get some materials up there. Instead of taking a rocketship, you take an elevator that rises into the sky like Jack's mythical beanstalk.

Impossible? Only for now. We've covered carbon nanotubes and other necessary components back in 2002. This June, Glenn's Winds of Discovery report indicated that space elevators could be closer than we thought.

Late June 2004 saw the Third International Conference on Space Elevators. The meeting is now over, and while we wait for the official archive of the presentations, we're starting to get a bit of information about what went on. Worldchanging.com has an optimistic article on future nanotech costs, and a fine collection of interesting space elevator materials.