Development of a 20km-high elevator into space is underway after Canadian company Thoth Technology was granted a US patent for its invention.
More than 20 times the height of the world’s current tallest buildings, the elevator could be used for wind energy generation, communications and tourism.The freestanding space tower would be pneumatically pressurized and actively-guided over its base.
Inventor Dr Brendan Quine said: “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.”
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richard townsend-rose14 September, 2015 1:19 pm
as reported in the guardian on 15th august ....
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