The long-imagined space elevator has moved one step closer to reality after a Canadian company has been granted a patent for what has been described as an “inflatable” space elevator.
ThothX Tower
Canadian company Thoth Technologies announced in July 2015 that it was granted a U.S. patent for a freestanding space tower which would serve as an elevator to transport astronauts into space – at least part of the way.
The structure is designed to stand 20 km (12 miles) tall and remain pressurized with gas (thus described by some in the press as “inflatable”) and kept in place by a series of flywheels. It would be over 20 times taller than the current tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which stands over 2700 feet tall.
Although referred to as a space tower or space elevator, the structure does not actually reach outer space. How far is outer space? While there is no specific boundary, the round number of 100 km, or 62 miles, has generally been used to describe the space boundary. This means that the elevator would only reach about one-fifth of the distance to space.
Astronauts would ride the elevator to the top, board a space plane, and use the runway to travel the remaining distance to space. Thoth estimates that this would lead to a 30% reduction in fuel costs.
Popular Mechanics has referred to the idea as “extremely ambitious.” It also noted that the idea for a space elevator dates back over 100 years. The idea has become popular enough to warrant its own annual conference.
Despite the patent announcement, there are no announced plans to begin building the space elevator, and the planes required to complete the trip to space from the top do not currently exist.
Bottom Line
A Canadian company has been grated a patent for a 12-mile space elevator. While it doesn’t actually reach space, it would serve as a very high launch pad for space planes, leading to a significant reduction in fuel costs.
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