By Courtesy of Obayashi Corporation
A Japanese company is envisioning building a space elevator that would link the Earth to a specific orbit, where scientists could be dropped off or satellites launched. One day, this technology could even potentially reduce travel times to Mars.
A Japanese company is envisioning building a space elevator that would link the Earth to a specific orbit, where scientists could be dropped off or satellites launched. One day, this technology could even potentially reduce travel times to Mars.
The concept of the space elevator dates back to the 1950s, and involves linking the Earth's surface directly to a precise orbit via an immense cable several thousand kilometers long. This would be held taut by the centrifugal force of the Earth's rotation on its axis. The idea is then to be able to reach this orbit more easily and much more economically than with a traditional space launcher.
The Obayashi Corporation has been working on developing a space elevator project for some years. An initial R&D project was due to start being built in 2025, with operations potentially beginning from 2050. However, it seems that the firm may not be ready to get things underway quite so soon. The number-one problem will be finding the right material to use. On paper, tiny carbon nanotubes have all the properties required, but so far no one has managed to assemble the equivalent of more than two feet (60 cm). The cable will also have to be strong enough to withstand the strain it will be subjected to, not to mention the climatic phenomena such as thunderstorms and tornadoes that it may have to withstand from time to time. So there's still a lot of work to be done before we might see a cable unfurled in space, even if, on paper, the project is full of potential.
Rather than using a rocket, people and/or goods would be brought into orbit via electromagnetic vehicles called "climbers," requiring no fuel but powered, for example, by solar energy. This technology also means that there would be no risk of explosion.
It remains to be seen whether it will actually be possible to build this kind of elevator. The system could one day be useful for reaching Mars, reducing travel time to less than three months, as opposed to the nearly nine months envisaged today.
This colossal project not only raises a host of technological challenges, but is also estimated to cost almost $100 billion. The cable may not be operational until 2050, at the very earliest. Note that the Obayashi Corporation is the firm behind the Tokyo Skytree, a gigantic 634 m-high broadcasting tower (twice the height of the Eiffel Tower) inaugurated in 2012.
