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From: mmm@weitek.UUCP (Mark Thorson)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re:  Skyhooks, Tethers, and Kites.
Message-ID: <367@weitek.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 5-Jan-86 22:59:29 EST
Article-I.D.: weitek.367
Posted: Sun Jan  5 22:59:29 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Jan-86 23:48:57 EST
Organization: Weitek Corp. Sunnyvale Ca.
Lines: 15
Keywords: solar wind, lightsails

Henry Spencer says the gases evaporating off the sun and
earth are way too thin for the purpose of a space kite.
How about the light from the sun itself?  People
have proposed using the light pressure to propel
spacecaft.  Of course, I could be talking about a BIG
kite.  There's plenty of room up there.  That's why they
call it space :-)

Someone else said if you could build the kite, you
should build the equatorial skyhook instead.  I agree,
but the skyhook won't have a low synchronous orbit over
the pole.  You might want to hang the SDI from it.
If you can do both, you just might want to.

Mark Thorson  (...!cae780!weitek!mmm)