I don’t know… our full-time staff only includes two people due to current funding levels (me and Eric), and I haven’t talked with him about space elevators just yet, though presumably we both agree with the general timeline set forth by Liftport.

Space elevators are still decades away

Two decades, if the demand remains there, and the idea is viable in general. Carbon nanotubes are already being manufactured in kilogram quantities. See here for the current costs.

I’m quite confident that one will never be built, as other transportation techniques will be cheaper.

Perhaps! Maglev launch looks promising, as are scramjet technologies and jet-assist launches. The security risk of having an easy terrorist target like a space elevator may ensure that one is never built. One might be constructed on the Moon though, to help people build colonies in L1.

Despite being China powered (as the US and China are not as close as they use to be thanks to the ASAT) this could drastically help lower the cost of space!

This is even better than the Magnetic sled proposed by Launch Point (which could only send up cargo and unfortunately double as a missile launcher).

Note: You guys have never mentioned space elevators as an alternative for space transportation. Has your foundation investigated this avenue?

PS

Although unlikely in the near future, hopefully one could be developed so that it would lift the entire craft into space, helping to reduce CO2 emissions.

I don’t think EM launch will be feasible in a decade, but dollars / kilogram to orbit will start to decline after 2010 as many private space companies will start to compete. SpaceX seems most promising with their Falcon rockets.

ONLY hundreds of dollars per pound?! That’s as much as solid silver metal costs! Clearly, we can’t build an effective space ark on our current budget if everything is as expensive as solid silver.