Build space elevators in fiction

Thoth Space Technology (Canada) has just been granted a patent for a space elevator design with a height of 20 km, inspired by an English writer's novel.

Build a space elevator with a height of 20km

In the field of space travel , the first 100 km high is the hardest and most expensive work with current technology. Every height greater than 50 km requires a rocket, but the boosters have very low performance. Fuel aside from being used to bring the spacecraft into orbit, it must also be used to transport fuel itself. In addition, fuel is still consumed by problems related to the atmosphere.

Thothx tower has a height of 20km above the ground.(Photo: THOTHX)

In the 20th century, scientists and engineers tested many ways to overcome these difficulties, such as launching orbiting spacecraft to take advantage of the Earth's rotation speed, or launching missiles from balloons or use different launch systems. However, the most effective way (at least in theory calculations) is to use space elevators.

This idea was first mentioned in the fictional novel The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke. Elevators can carry passengers and goods from the Earth's surface to geostationary orbit at a distance of 36,000 km. The cost for a kilo of freight transported by elevator is 220 USD, much cheaper than the current method of shipping cost of 25,000 USD. Space elevators also have many other advantages such as a fixed setpoint or can perform many functions of a satellite.

However, the current design of elevators is surpassing human ability to build . It will need a tower or a cable that extends to a geostationary orbit, adding another hundreds-km-long cable connected to a size counterweight of an asteroid to help keep the structure balanced. Materials for elevator construction to withstand its own weight are not yet available. Currently materials such as carbon nanotubes, boron nitride nanotubes or nano diamond fibers are being investigated.

Thothx 's design attempts to approach these limits. The tower has a height of about 20 km and a diameter of 230 m. It can launch satellites from floors attached to towers. Although 20 km is too small for the distance of 36,000 km, it is still 20 times higher than any other artificial construction, and will save 1/3 of the cost of satellite launch.

Design the bottom of the tower with the flywheel system.(Photo: Gizmag.com)

Thothx's main function is to launch a spacecraft, with the top of the tower as a launch pad for take-off, landing, refueling and launch operations. In addition, the tower can be used for scientific research, communication, tourism, remote sensing and wind generator installation. Small towers, 25-150 m high, will be used for communication and remote sensing purposes.

The body of the tower is made of reinforced inflatable parts. The inner part of the tower will be an inflatable part and has an empty space to place the elevator. It is also used for mounting raised floors, stabilizers and other components of the system.

The tower is too tall to be able to hold with a cable, so the company recommends using the flywheel system to create dynamic balance. The flywheels can resist the bending of the tower and keep it standing.

The turbochargers will also be used to run inside the core or outside the shaft like a mechanical spider because it cannot use the cable. The cable will break because of its own weight.