Toronto: A Canadian company have proposed a space elevator of 12.5 miles into the stratosphere. This will mainly cut out the need for rockets to shuttle astronauts into space, potentially this will save more than 30 percent of the fuel of a conventional rocket, according to the company.
(Pic courtesy thothx.com)
This is an extraordinary idea which sounds like a science fiction novel. The Thoth Technology company will build a freestanding tower, reaching 20 km above the planet’s surface. This space elevator is expected to be 20 times the height of the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa.
The so-called space elevator would serve as a liftoff point to space, potentially saving more than 30 percent of the fuel of a conventional rocket, according to the company.
“Astronauts would ascend 20 km by an electric elevator. From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refuelling and reflight,” its inventor Dr Brendan Quine said. This innovation will also be used for wind -energy generation and communication.
