20 km Space Tower
This is the present-day realm of creative thinking over space elevators, in the use of a giant tower to carry us to space. Scientists working on space elevators are thinking about materials and designs that can be used to access space as an alternative to rocket technology. A sign of the times is the upcoming Space Elevator Conference 2015 which takes place this month in Seattle.
Imagine, said The Spaceward Foundation, the space elevator, serving as a track on which electric vehicles called “climbers” can travel up and down carrying about 10 tons of payload. “There are no intense gravity-loads during the trip, no acoustic vibration, no onboard fuel, nor any of the rest of the drama (and cost) associated with rocket launches,” it added.
Canadian company, Thoth Technology in Ontario, has a patent for a space elevator to access space. It would reach 12miles above the planet. Its engineers said the technology could save >30% of the fuel of a conventional rocket— spacecraft and people could be lifted to a level in the atmosphere requiring less force to launch. It is a freestanding space tower concept, held rigid by pressurized gas.
The patent said the tower could be further scaled to provide direct access to altitudes above 200 km and with the gravitation potential of Low Earth Orbit [LEO].
The patent document reads: “The present invention is a self-supporting space elevator tower for the delivery of payloads to at least one platform or pod above the surface of the Earth for the purposes of space launch. The space elevator tower may also be used to deliver equipment, personnel and other objects or people to at least one platform or pod above the surface of the Earth for the purpose of scientific research, communications and tourism.”
It uses modular tubes of Kevlar-polyethylene composites filled with helium. The tubes are much lighter and forgiving than modern building materials, and the helium helps hold the structure up.”
“From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight,” said Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor and a professor at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering. http://techxplore.com/news/2015-08-company-canada-patent-space-elevator.html
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