Associated Press - November 4, 2009 6:34 PM ET
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - A laser-powered machine has zipped thousands of feet up a cable dangling from a helicopter in a competition to develop space elevator technology.
LaserMotive of Seattle qualified for at least $900,000 in the $2 million NASA-backed Space Elevator Games, which began Wednesday at the Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base.
LaserMotive's vehicle climbed 2,953 feet (nearly 1 kilometer) in just over four minutes and then repeated the feat.
The Kansas City, Mo., Space Pirates went first. Their vehicle was too slow to qualify for a prize but apparently was only about 160 feet short of the top when it had to stop.
Electric space elevators powered by laser beams are theorized as a way to reach space without using rockets.
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