It kind of depends on which experts position paper you read on it - I point you in the direction of
10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.01.008 (Towards the Artsutanov's dream of the space elevator: The ultimate design of a 35 GPa strong tether thanks to graphene, N.M. Pugno)
For someone that is exploring the materials we will likely use in any attempt at an elevator.
Yes, we can't make the materials today. Like, right now. Or even next month, especially in the quantities needed. But we also can't make the rockets that might make it more accessible. And, more than likely, the first space elevator will be built on the moon, not on earth, which will definitely require heavy lift and would probably be a proving ground for the technology and materials.
So yes, science fiction, but so is pretty much everything else that spaceX wants to do.
They always say the future is just around the corner and in this case they might just be true. Or at least, as you can tell, I hope it to be true.
10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.01.008 (Towards the Artsutanov's dream of the space elevator: The ultimate design of a 35 GPa strong tether thanks to graphene, N.M. Pugno)
For someone that is exploring the materials we will likely use in any attempt at an elevator.
Yes, we can't make the materials today. Like, right now. Or even next month, especially in the quantities needed. But we also can't make the rockets that might make it more accessible. And, more than likely, the first space elevator will be built on the moon, not on earth, which will definitely require heavy lift and would probably be a proving ground for the technology and materials.
So yes, science fiction, but so is pretty much everything else that spaceX wants to do.
They always say the future is just around the corner and in this case they might just be true. Or at least, as you can tell, I hope it to be true.