A new “Space Elevator” can become the next alternative to launching astronauts into outer space. A Canadian space company was recently granted the U.S. patent for the technology.
Al Jazeera reported that the Canadian space firm Thoth Technology, was given the patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a space elevator 20 kilometers long that would take astronauts above Earth to be subsequently propelled into orbit. Called the ThothX Tower, the giantstructure would be freestanding and pneumatically pressurized. The elevator structure includes a segmented core structure. Each segment is comprised of at least one pneumatically pressurized cell. The pressure cells may be filled with another gas or air. Elevator cars can go up or down on the outer surface of the elevator core structure or in a shaft located on the interior of the elevator core model. Astronauts may be launched from a deck or pod found on the upper end of the space elevator.
“Astronauts would ascend to 20km by electrical elevator. 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 inventor Dr Brendan Quine.
Aside from transporting astronauts, the tower, which is 20 times taller than current skyscrapers, can also be used to generate wind energy, communicate, provide more scientific information and boost tourism. The technology provides a new way to enter space by using fully reusable materials and saving over 30 percent of fuel used by conventional rockets. Energy is saved by eliminating the need for a vertical launch, which rockets currently use. Space passengers can then try a horizontal flight, similar to a passenger plane, from the top of the structure.
"Landing on a barge at sea level is a great demonstration, but landing at 12 miles (20km) above sea level will make space flight more like taking a passenger jet,” said Caroline Roberts, president and chief executive of Thoth Technology.
ABC News reported that space planes can launch in a single stage to orbit from the peak of the tower. These can also return to the top of the space elevator to refuel and re-launch, according to Quine.
The project is still in its patenting phase, so there should be several more challenges before the ThothX Tower becomes a reality. More news and updates from the space company and the elevator construction are expected in the following months.
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