Beanstalk and Balloon: getting to orbit by hook or by crook

I've been obsessed with the idea of using airships to help get us to orbit for some time, and I see that there are some other people out there with similar ideas.

The basic idea is to use a large floating airship as a basestation for a space elevator, or beanstalk as it is sometimes called.

The following links contain detailed discussion by others of this idea.

http://www.blog.speculist.com/archives/000422.html


http://www.blog.speculist.com/archives/000427.html

Also, check out this site for an interesting take on space station development

http://lifeboat.com/ex/space.habitats