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Space elevators are a science fiction job. Designed by novelist and futurist Arthur C Clarke, they were an unlikely fantasy for marketing space travel. But now, it seems that this is no longer the case thanks to a team of researchers from Shizuoka University in Japan and the Japanese entrepreneur Obayashi.
Obayashi sees the space elevator consisting of six oval shaped cars, each measuring 18 x 7.2m and capable of holding 30 people at a time. The lift will start on an offshore platform and connect via a cable to a satellite located 36,000 km above the Earth.
The elevator would be powered by an electric motor pulley and would drive up and down the vehicle up to 120 mph. Even at this speed, it took eight days to get to the space station, so cars of 30 people are incredibly snug and luxurious, otherwise it could be an uncomfortable race in space.
READ MORE: The realities of space travel suggest that it's not going to be fun
To get passengers into space, Obayashi has to create and install a cable that is nearly 60,000 kilometers long. Its cost of creation is estimated at nearly 7 billion pounds sterling and will most likely consist of carbon nanotubes.
While this may seem like an extravagant cost, it is estimated that it is actually a hundredth of what the costs of space shuttle development and flight are. It is also intended to be reusable and to generate a higher turnover, which would considerably reduce the costs per use.
In addition to the difficulty of developing, storing and building a 60,000 mile cable, Obayashi is not really ready to start the project yet. In fact, the Shizuoka research team is about to begin the first phase of testing the project. This involves sending two small satellites (just 10 x 10 cm) in space and connecting them with a 10 m steel cable from the International Space Station.
READ MORE: Space exploration could have huge ethical consequences
Shizuoka will test its elevator concept by then sending containers along this cable between the two satellites and the ISS. If successful, it could give the go-ahead to the next phase of space elevator development.
Yet, I am not totally sold to the idea of paying. I have watched enough episodes of different Gundam series to know that as soon as someone controls a space elevator, everyone just wants to invade and take back them.
However, if the future of this anime is strictly a work of fiction, a space elevator could open up humanity to a real journey in space. A future where we use satellites as transport stations to further explore our own solar system and galaxy.
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