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Space Elevator

Resurfaced independently across 2 calendar years, with breakout response in 2 of them.

submissions
3
submitters
3
observed span
2023–2025
peak thread · 403 comments
1802 pts
latest 20+ return · 2025-10-20
1802 pts

Submission timeline

2007–2026

One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.

First comments on top threads

HN comment order

Very cool. One thing I wish was better shown: space is close, it's just hard to go up. Our liveable breathable atmosphere is razor thin compared to the size of earth. In most cases, 100km is less than the distance between sizeable metropolitan areas. It's a day long bike ride. Air runs out less than a bus ride across town. A 15k jog/hike would put you in the stratosphere. Those jet aircraft that seem so high are closer than that…

Couple of things I learned from this: 1. Some birds go really high into the sky. Not sure how they evolved to tolerate such a hostile environment. But it seems that Duck-like birds are able to handle very high altitude. 2. There are lots of cool spaceships that man has made. But it seems most of these were made in the 1950-1990 era. It's a shame that we are no longer doing that.

csomar·1456-point thread·

The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.

Breakout years
2

100+ points or 50+ comments

Total points
3259

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Total comments
610

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Every submission

DateTitle as submittedByPointsComments
2023-04-19Space ElevatorFirst breakoutnivethan1456207
2025-08-12Space Elevatorgbear60510
2025-10-20Space ElevatorBest thread · Latest 20+ point returnkaonwarb1802403