Space elevator proposed for launching cargo and astronauts
AUG 17, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029128
Telegraph : A Canadian space company, Thoth Technology, has been granted a patent for a space elevator. The freestanding inflatable structure would sit on Earth’s surface and rise some 20 km to the stratosphere. Pressurized cars would either run up the structure’s core or climb up the outside. The tower could be used in place of rockets for accessing space and could thus cut the current costs for spaceflight by one-third by avoiding the large amounts of fuel needed to launch a rocket from the ground. It could also be used for scientific research, wind-energy generation, communications, and space tourism.
© 2015 American Institute of Physics
