Space elevator a reality by 2020

Arthur C. Clarke’s ‘space elevator’ to be a reality

World famous science fiction writer and futurist, the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke once penned a novel, “The Fountains of Paradise” that featured an amazing technology called an orbital tower that’s basically an elevator to space.

The space elevator will move people and cargo to low or geosynchronous Earth orbits

According to A. Senthil Kumar, deputy head at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSCC) in India, the space elevator may become a reality by 2020. And when it does the cost of putting things into orbit will drop from about $18,145 a pound to a minuscule $100.

Going up…all the way up…to space!

The key to achieving Clarke’s vision is being worked on in the labs of materials scientists. A cable stretching from the surface of Earth to outer space is not possible with current materials, but probably will become possible with the new, exotic materials being developed by nanotechnology.

Scientists at the Indian Space Center have realized this and are looking to become one of the leaders of such a project.

“Space scientists and engineers are looking at the possibility of designing an elevator to travel into space. It is also time that Indian research institutions looked at developing advanced graphene, carbon nanotube composite fiber, nano epoxy and laser power beaming,” Kumar told Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) during a recent interview.

During an address to the 98th Indian Science Congress Kumar, stated that “The space elevator consists of a cable from an anchor in the ground to a counter weight located beyond geostationary orbit (GSO) that is 22,236 miles away. A climber will move up on a carbon nanotube tether between earth and space.”

Entire article here.

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