Fifty years ago people believed that by the time space travel will be as available as their year of travel by public transport. Unfortunately, these hopes were not fulfilled. But perhaps already in 2050-th year in the space can be reached by Elevator – this concept vehicle introduced Japanese company Obayashi Corporation.
The elevators are different! There is a common Elevator, a lift in the bathroom, Elevator inside the aquarium, and the company Obayashi Corporation promises within a few decades, make an Elevator into space! In fact, the creation of such technologies is engaged in several scientific and engineering groups around the world, curated by space Agency NASA. However, according to the Japanese, this process is very slow, so in the Obayashi Corporation decided to do independent of other development of the space Elevator.
The main achievement of competitions from NASA is that they have proved the possibility of creating a space Elevator. Obayashi Corporation promises to launch this unusual vehicle already by 2050.
This Elevator will lead from Earth on the space station, located at an altitude of 36 thousand kilometers. But the length of the cable will amount to 96 thousand kilometers. We need this in order to create the orbital counterweight. In the future it can be used to extend the route of the lift.
The lift can move at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour and can carry simultaneously up to 30 people. So to achieve the ultimate goal of this vehicle will need about 8 days. On the space station also will house laboratories and living quarters. The cost of running one person at the beginning of work of the space Elevator will be reduced significantly, compared with the current.
The rope on which the lift will go, needs to be created from the symbiosis of carbon nanotubes and the secretion from the glands of genetically modified spiders. At Obayashi Corporation has a couple of decades to develop and implement these technologies.
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