Peter Swan

Dr. Peter Swan, an AIAA Fellow and member of the International Academy of Astronautics, has over 40 years of experience in both government and commercial space systems. He is co-author of Global Mobile Satellite Systems and Impact of Space Activities upon Society. He is a former faculty member at the US Air Force Academy; he spent 8 years building space systems for the Air Force; and, then ten years working the Iridium system for Motorola as the spacecraft bus lead. Dr. Swan is a partner of Teaching Science and Technology, Inc. and has taught over 3,500 professional students in space systems and space systems engineering. He is a past member of the AF Scientific Advisory Board and a current member of the Army Science Board. He earned his doctorate at the University of California (UCLA) and continues his dissertation topic, Space Tethers and Space Elevators [co author of Space Elevator Systems Architecture]. His hobbies are golf and SCUBA diving.

….. I am a firm believer in the Space Elevator as its dramatic cost reductions change the way we will look at space. The current and historic approach of launching satellites has become more refined, but is still described as “Building rockets…always on the edge of chaos.”2 This approach has two serious handicaps: only a small fraction of launch mass on the pad gets to orbit; and, the fuel and structures are all consumed. These handicaps lead to large inefficiencies and tremendous costs. One goal of the space elevator is to take advantage of a routine transportation mode. The parallel to a toll bridge is evident – you pay for permanent infrastructure. This leverage should lead to $100 (US dollar) per kilogram to orbit, and eventually, to $8 per kilogram. George Whitesides (of the NSS) stated… “Until you build an infrastructure, you are not serious.” The space elevator is designed to be THE space access infrastructure to orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. To understand why a space elevator is needed, three components of the discussion must be present: The human spirit needs no restrictions: Once the Apollo 8 Earthrise picture from lunar orbit was broadcast, the world was sensitized to our limitations and the realization that we were on a fragile planet. We must soar beyond our boundaries and expand into the solar system. The realization that chemical rockets cannot get us beyond Low Earth Orbit: The tyranny of the rocket equation must be broken to enable commercial expansion into space. The recognition that the “Space Option” will enable solutions to Earth’s current limitations: By lowering the price to orbit and ensuring an infrastructure that does not throw away 94 % of its mass every time it launches, expansion can be real. Three important missions will take advantage of the creation of an inexpensive and reliable access to space: solar power satellites, exploration of the solar system, and planetary protection.

Peter serves as the vice president of the board of directors of ISEC. You can reach Peter at .

Bryan Laubscher

Dr. Bryan Laubscher is an astrophysicist and spent 18 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a contractor, staff member and project leader. His past projects include LANL’s portion of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey , Magdalena Ridge Observatory, and a project developing concepts and technologies for space situational awareness. Over the years Dr. Laubscher has participated in research in astronomy, laser radar, non-linear optics, space mission design, space-borne instrumentation design and construction, spacecraft design, novel electromagnetic detection concepts and technologies, detector/receiver system development, spectrometer development, interferometry, and has participated in many field experiments and astronomical observations. He led Space Elevator development at LANL until going on entrepreneurial leave in late 2005. Dr. Laubscher is also an experienced entrepreneur and is working to develop super strong carbon nanotube-based materials.

The Space Elevator is the only space access technology that is on the “critical path” to enabling the use of space resources to improve life on Earth and empower humans to explore and settle the solar system. Work on chemical rocket propulsion will yield only incremental improvements in these areas, not the orders-of-magnitude improvements that are necessary. For this reason Dr. Laubscher is dedicated to Space Elevator development. As a researcher with over 20 years of experience in scientific R&D, he is confident that the challenges of Space Elevator development can be overcome once the appropriate, modest investments in the underlying technologies are made. The Space Elevator promises a future in which the “zero sum game” that we now face in terms of resources is gone and the ensuing economic expansion has lifted all humans out of poverty. The history of the 20th century is being written and it is clear that one of mankind’s greatest achievements was landing men on the moon. When the history of the 21st century is written it will be said that Space Elevator development was one of the greatest achievements of mankind. Realizing this achievement is a worthwhile endeavor for anyone.

Bryan is a member of the board of directors, organizes the Space Elevator Conference, and is the lead for ISEC's technology pillar. You can reach Bryan at .

Ben Shelef

Ben is a co-founder of the Spaceward Foundation and a member of the Space Elevator community. An aerospace engineer by day, he dons the cape and mask of Space Elevator crusader by night, and engages in daring escapades such as running the $4,000,000 Space Elevator challenge, developing Carbon Nanotube technology, and attending ISEC board meetings.

... The Space Elevator is it. Mankind has outgrown its habitat, and most all modern-day ailments are simply symptoms of this fact. The only way to solve the underlying problem is to expand the habitat, and the Space Elevator is the only way to do that. Rockets can enable individual Space missions, but only a Space Elevator can enable a true expansions of civilization into space - a space-faring society that is currently only imaginable to science-fiction writers. Looking back from the year 2500, the construction of the Space Elevator will be considered the defining moment in history when the Space Age truely began, comparable in importance to the invention of the heat engine and the beginning of the Industrial Age.

As an engineer, there is no better occupation than this. As a person, there is no more significant a pursuit. The future is closer than it appears!

Ben serves on the board of directors of ISEC. You can reach Ben at , or find him on Facebook, or as the CarbonAlchemist on Twitter.

Ted Semon

Ted is best known as the author of the Space Elevator Blog, chronicling all that is goings-on inside the Space Elevator community since early 2006. To his role as a Director and President of ISEC, Ted brings to the table his people and managerial skills, writing skills, intense passion, and inside knowledge of the people and organizations involved in the Space Elevator effort. He is a retired software engineer with extensive international experience. In addition to his work inside the Space Elevator community, Ted is a CASA Advocate, working with neglected and abused children in the court system and he helps to address the problem of cat over-population through his work with Feral Fixers. In his spare time, he tries to not kill his bonsai trees.

... I believe that humanity MUST take all steps necessary to explore and colonize places outside our home-world and the only way we’re going to be able to do it is with a Space Elevator. America’s resources weren’t truly utilized until the intercontinental railway replaced the covered wagon. In the same vein, humanity’s access to space will be limited by the tyranny of the rocket equation until we build a Space Elevator, a carbon railway to outer space. If you believe that we need scalable, inexpensive access to space, then you should join ISEC and help in the effort to get a Space Elevator built. I have been fascinated by the concept of a Space Elevator ever since I read Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise. As an American, I hope that it’s we Americans who will lead the way, but in the final analysis it doesn’t matter who does it, just as long as it happens.

Ted serves on the board of directors of ISEC and is also the President of the organization. You can reach Ted at , or keep an eye out for him through Twitter or facebook

Marc Boucher

Mr. Boucher is an entrepreneur, technologist, explorer and bon vivant. He is the founder of Hyperix Search, Inc., aTerra Technologies Corp., and co-founder of the Mars Institute and SpaceRef Interactive Inc. which owns the Space Elevator Reference.

Since 1991 has been on leading edge of Internet trends and has been described as an Internet visionary. Products he's launched include SportsWorld (1992), @Canadas.net (1995), Maple Square (1996) and SpaceRef (1999). In 2002 he co-founded the Mars Institute a not for profit research institute focusing on science and exploration of the planet Mars and has since concluded contracts with the Canadian Space Agency, NASA and others.

Currently Boucher is developing a vertical search platform, building on existing technologies previously developed at Maple Square combined with new innovations. Mr. Boucher lives in Vancouver, Canada.

You can reach Marc at , or keep in touch with him through Linked In, on the International Space Elevator group on Facebook, or at the Space Elevator Reference Blog.

Ben Jarrell

Ben Jarrell is an attorney practicing in Huntsville, Alabama. He handles a wide variety of matters in his law practice, but his primary interest is in helping government contractors negotiate the federal acquisitions process. He received his Juris Doctor in 2007 from the Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was awarded a certificate in Environmental Law from the Loyola Center for Environmental Law and Land Use. He received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2002. In 2007, he published an article in the Loyola Law and Technology Annual addressing the international and federal legal environment that should be considered before the Space Elevator can become a reality. (International and Domestic Legal Issues Facing Space Elevator Deployment and Operation, 7 Loy. L. & Tech. Ann. 71 (2007)).

... I was first exposed to the idea of a space elevator in Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars trilogy. As an avid science fiction fan, I've been fascinated with the idea since. In law school I took a class in the International Space Law, and it occurred to me to use my class paper to address some of the legal obstacles facing the development of a space elevator; this served as the first draft of the paper I later published. I believe that existing space launch technologies are just too inefficient for a true space infrastructure to arise, even with the positive steps we've seen in developing the private space launch sector. I'm happy that an organization like ISEC is taking a practical and methodical approach to developing a space elevator, and hopefully those of us in the legal community can provide some insight.

Ben serves as the lead for ISEC's legal pillar. You can reach Ben at .

Ed Gray

Ed Gray is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and has had a 20-year postgraduate career in venture capital, business development, technology investment and market research with companies including Avid Technology, Summit Partners and Kaiser Associates. A relative newcomer to the space elevator community, Ed wishes to be a leader in sequencing and planning this vast economic project – with the help of other experts - by looking at the industries that will contribute to the space elevator and by developing and continually updating an economic and commercial roadmap.

Having learned about the Space Elevator on the occasion of Dr. Arthur C. Clarke's passing, I know of no other technical, economic, legal and political initiative that’s so challenging and potentially world-changing – yet completely possible through advancements in known technologies, dogged determination and long-term cooperation. I can’t wait to hear from more people – be they scientists, lawyers, investors, teachers or poets – who want to join ISEC in this multi-year adventure as it exits the world of science fiction and enters the world of operating reality.

Ed leads the ISEC Business Pillar and wants to hear your ideas. Contact Ed at .

Martin Lades

Dr. Martin Lades, has an interdisciplinary physics Ph.D. with a dissertation on pattern recognition and neural networks from the Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany, and an M.S. in physics on applied optics from the Friedrich-Alexander Universitaet Erlangen, Germany.

His research work includes pattern recognition research at LLNL and software development in bioinformatics. He has managed R&D, IT, and information security efforts and co-founded a VC funded tissue engineering startup running FDA trials. Martin joined the Space Elevator community 2004 attending the SE conference in D.C. He is currently working on optical design and control system questions for the 2008 Kansas City Space Pirates entry in Spaceward’s Power Beaming competition. He was working with the same team in 2006 and 2007, for example contributing the KCSP mirror targeting device for 2007. Martin’s passion is to coalesce the forces for Space Elevator development and support their communication infrastructure.

Martin serves on the board of directors of ISEC and is also our IT master.

You can reach Martin at .

Frank Chase

A resident of Hawaii for 22 years, Frank Chase has been a custom furniture designer since 1974, (chasedesignstudios.com ) clockmaker, graphic artist and inventor, working out of his home on the Big Island. Frank�s imagination was captured by the concept of the space elevator after reading Arthur C. Clarke�s �The Fountains of Paradise� in 1978; an occasional correspondent with Sir Clarke over the next two decades, Frank presented the author with a limited edition signed print of his Space Elevator graphic in 2001 at Sir Arthur's request.

I am a firm believer in the need to bring the Space Elevator forward from an idea to a working system allowing safe and economical access to space, and look forward to working with ISEC to help bring this about.

Frank Chase is our Artist in Residence! You can reach Frank at .

Matt Gjertsen

Matt Gjertsen is currently a T-1 Instructor Pilot in the United States Air Force. He teaches hundreds of students each year the basics of flying large aircraft as they prepare to fly cargo and air refueling aircraft in their future Air Force careers. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in Physics and is currently finishing his Masters degree in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University. When not flying or studying Matt spends his time training for triathlons, reading and doing just about anything outdoors.

I believe that the only way that humanity can continue in the long term is to expand. Though there is still lots of room on earth the resources that exist on the earth are already being spread thin. If we want to raise the standard of living for the 2 billion people living on less than $2 a day we need to look outward. The space elevator is the only practical way of getting large amounts of the human population into space and having full access to the resources that are available in space. The technology has to potential to be cheap, clean and endlessly expandable. These kinds of benefits, even if years away, demand the attention of the space exploration community so that we can achieve true access to space.

Matt serves as the lead for ISEC's public relations pillar. You can reach Matt at .

Montse Ugalde Huebe

Montse studied at the University of Texas PanAmerican where she received a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering with specialization in Manufacturing. Montse has been part of EuroSpaceward's team since 2007 and has managed successfully each yearly European Workshop on Space Elevator Climber and Tether Design, as well as the Children Drawing Contests sponsored/promoted by the same association. Her favorite pastimes are traveling, meeting people and discovering new cultures. Exploring nature, music and art. What she enjoys the most, however, is a cup of mate tea together with a great talk amongst friends.

I started to become interested in the subject in 2007 when I met Markus Klettner and became part of EuroSpaceward's team. It was something new and so interesting that I started researching about it. I feel the subject has not yet been promoted enough and that is my main interest. To pass the word around about the advances in space subject that are being made in a simple but effective way that can reach everyone; those who are familiar with the subject and those who are not, specially children; after all they are the future.

Montse is ISEC's Documentalist, leading the effort to build the ISEC Library. You can reach Montse at .

Daniel Krause

Daniel A. Krause is a graduate of Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, holding a MFA in Theater Design, having previously received his BA from the University of Delaware and participated in the design and construction of multiple Broadway shows and Feature Films. Having spent many hours, days and weeks dealing with the real-life adventure of creating realities, many of them suspend very high in the air, Dan is determined to not only tell the stories of Humanities hopes and dreams, but to help make them real.

There is a dynamic between the artist and the scientist, one which has been in place as long as we have written history. It is the role of the artist to explore the reality of our present, the events of our past and the hopes and fears of our future. For too long we have been held down to the earth, only able to tell the stories of what might be. It is now time to take those visions into the realm of the real. We have only this one shackle left on our potential as a species: the chains of gravity to our mother earth. I will do what I can to make my generation the final earth-bound generation of our species.

Dan is ISEC's Technical Journal Editor. You can reach Dan at .