THIS weekend the space shuttle Columbia crew deploy what is probably NASA's most unusual experiment yet, writes Mary Mulvihill. It is a thin copper wire, 12 miles long, that they hope will generate electricity from the outer reaches of the Earth's magnetic field.
If this experiment is successful, it could mean the start of a whole new space technology: using a revolutionary new power source and opening up the possibility of space elevators capable of moving people, supplies and equipment into orbit without the need for expensive rockets, nuclear power systems or solar panels.