http://wired.com/news/space/0,2697,67000,00.html
NASA announced Wednesday that it will award $50,000 each to the first teams to develop a Space Age tether and a wireless method for powering robots.
What are they going to tether the Space Age to?
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7201
(subscription)
The new prizes will focus on the technologies necessary to develop a space elevator.