Scientists Design Space Elevator

Three scientists from York University in Toronto, Canada have designed a 20-kilometre inflatable tower for a space elevator.

The tower would extend from the Earth to a space station. This would enable people to get to a space station without using rockets, which are dangerous and bad for the environment.

The idea of a space elevator is not a new one. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian Scientist, suggested it in 1895, and Arthur C. Clarke used one in his novel The Fountains of Paradise in 1978.

In recent times, the Japan Space Elevator Association and the Liftport Group of New Jersey have also tried to develop space elevators.

However, until now, scientists have not been able to come up with a material that is strong enough to withstand the pressure of Earth's atmosphere and support the weight of a space elevator.

Brendan Quine, Raj Setha and George Zhu of York University in Toronto think they have solved this problem by designing an elevator tower that uses modules of Kevlar-polyethylene filled with gas. The gas supports the structure. These inflatable modules are already being used in some spacecraft.