“The space elevator” may be only thirty years away from us

The space elevator – a structure that reaches the sky – might seem like a distant and far-fetched concept, but it could be closer than we think and could come to light even in not very distant times.

In an article published in Scientific American, physics professor Stephen Cohen of Vanier College in Montreal, Quebec, said he believes this sci-fi technology could become a reality "in the next two to three decades."

Cohen describes the space elevator as "a cable extending from Earth to space along which people and goods can travel easily." In his article he argues that engineers and scientists are breaking new ground in designing these massive structures that could revolutionize the way we access space.

Why build a space elevator?
Space elevators have the potential to massively reduce the cost and energy required to go into space. Companies like SpinLaunch are already testing potentially game-changing new technologies that could dramatically reduce the cost of sending small satellites and science payloads into space.

Space elevators could launch people, cargo and scientific payloads into space, with the added benefit of boosting human spaceflight and space tourism.

With space elevators, "the word 'space mission' would be replaced by 'transit,' as space travel would become routine and mostly weather-independent," Cohen writes. "Transits involving humans would be safer than current practices, where astronauts have to accept a non-negligible risk to their lives with each launch." “A space elevator becomes a bridge to the entire solar system. Dropping a payload at the bottom gets you into orbit around the Earth, but dropping it into the top gets you into orbit around the Sun, all without fuel."

How would a space elevator work?
Cohen explains that his fascination with space elevators began when, in 2004, he discussed thesis topics with Professor Arun Misra, the principal space expert in McGill University's mechanical engineering department.

Misra told him about the concept of a space elevator, a 100,000 km long cable that extends into the sky from the Earth's equator and is connected to a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit – meaning that it orbits at the same speed as the Earth and, therefore, flies above a fixed position.

The concept also involves using mechanical climbers to reach different altitudes from the earth's surface. Depending on the altitude at which a capsule or spacecraft would be released, it would begin to orbit the Earth or the Sun or fall back to Earth.

Over the years, different types of mechanical lifts have been proposed. A space elevator concept, for example, would use maglev rail conveyors to traverse the massive space tether at very high speeds.

As Cohen points out in his article, the material needed for such a cable would have to be 50 times stronger than steel, so space elevators are impossible with current technology. Meanwhile, he and "a handful of other folks around the world are pretending this problem is going to be solved and tackling other engineering aspects of space elevators while we wait." After all, there are already experimental materials, such as graphene, which potentially would have the strength necessary for the construction of the connection cable.

While Cohen doesn't directly address the material aspect of space elevator technology, he believes we may be a decade or two away from having the material needed to make space elevators a reality. Scientists are constantly working on creating stronger materials and technologies for various reasons related to global infrastructure projects. This work could one day lead to the advent of space elevators. This would be a development that could open up space for the masses and help humanity reach further into the cosmos than ever before.

---

---

The article “The space elevator” could be only thirty years away from us comes from Scenari Economici .

---

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/lascensore-spaziale-potrebbe-essere-solo-trentanni-distante-d-noi/ on Wed, 30 Nov 2022 06:16:39 +0000.