Bradley Edwards, a scientist, believes that developing carbon technology will make the construction of a space elevator possible within the next decade.
Edwards believes that sections of cable could be launched into space on rockets and then secured to a satellite. A “climber” – his version of an elevator car – would then be attached to the cable and used to add more nanotubes until it stretched down to earth.
The cable would then be attached to a platform on the Equator, near the Pacific coast of South America, which would be mobile to allow the cable to be moved to get out of the path of orbiting satellites.
The elevator would be powered by a laser on the platform which would aim concentrated light at the lift’s photosensitive cells and create enough electricity to move the elevator between earth and the docking satellite above.
The Sunday Herald has this story.
- Log in to post comments