The space elevator will be ready by 2050

Science fiction is becoming a reality. The Japanese company Obayashi announced its readiness to build a functioning space elevator by 2050. If successful, this venture will revolutionize space travel and turn the global economy around.

ABC News Agency reports thatJapanese construction giant Obayashi is working on a space elevator with a total length of 96 thousand kilometers into space. Robotic cars with magnetic linear engines will deliver people and cargo to the orbiting space station. Such transportation will be cheaper than using modern missiles. In this case, the one-way road will take only a week.

The company says that carbon nanomaterials will help it realize this idea.

The tensile strength of [carbon nanotubes] is almost100 times higher than a steel cable, so the idea is quite feasible. Modern technology allows us to make nanotubes 3 centimeters long, but this is not enough to create a cable. “We think we will be able to resolve this issue by 2030,” said Obayashi Research and Development Manager Yoji Ishikawa.

Universities from all over Japan work on a solutionthis problem. Every year they hold contests to exchange experience and knowledge. For example, a team of engineers from the University of Kanagawa is developing robotic cars and elevators for elevators.

The cable tension that connects the Earth and the space station will be different, depending on the height and gravity.

We study the mechanisms for lifting to different heights and develop the optimal braking system, ”says Professor Tadashi Egami.

In 2012, scientists came to the conclusion that the space elevator needs to be built together, by the whole world.

I do not think that this is within the power of one company. To implement such a large-scale project, an international organization is needed, ”Ishikawa is sure.

Experts believe that the space elevator will putthe end to expensive and dangerous missiles launched from land launchers. If the delivery of cargo into orbit in the traditional way costs about 22 thousand dollars per kilogram, then the space elevator will cost about 200 dollars.

Moving small rockets with an elevatorIt will allow you to seriously save on fuel, which is necessary to overcome the Earth's gravity. In addition, the space elevator will help solve pressing energy problems by supplying large amounts of cheap solar energy to Earth. In the same way, it will be possible to send radioactive waste into space.

The elevator will also contribute to the development of spacetourism. The cabins that the Japanese scientists are working on will accommodate up to 30 people. So the day is short when flights to the moon will be akin to visiting Disneyland.