Going up: Japan builder eyes space elevator

[fotoudavid]

A Japanese construction firm claimed Wednesday it could execute an out-of-this-world plan to put tourists in space within 40 years by building an elevator that stretches a quarter of the way to the moon.
Obayashi Corp claims it could use carbon nanotube technology, which is more than 20 times stronger than steel, to build a lift shaft 96,000 kilometres (roughly 60,000 miles) above the Earth.
The company said it would carry up to 30 passengers at a time and travel at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour for a week, stopping off at a station at 36,000 kilometers.


Going up: Japan builder eyes space elevator - Yahoo! News

 

[allenleonhart]

and when an earth quake comes... japan will shake ah shake ah shake ah shake again. maybe not such a good idea to have so tall buildings eh?

 

[cks2k2]

Arthur C Clarke wrote about a "space elevator" years back.

 

[Edwin Francis]

Arthur C Clarke wrote about a "space elevator" years back.

Yeah, "Fountains of Paradise".

It isn't exactly a new idea, and there are prizes (like the X Prize for spaceflight) to encourage development of the necessary technologies.
'Space elevator' wins $900,000 NASA prize - space - 06 November 2009 - New Scientist
The Spaceward Foundation

Quite apart from the tourism opportunities, it would bring down (by a huge margin) the cost of putting satellites into orbit. Visionaries such as Clarke have taken it even further, looking forward to a time when there are numerous space elevators around the globe, eventually linked by a ring -- mind boggling!

 

[allenleonhart]

Yeah, "Fountains of Paradise".

It isn't exactly a new idea, and there are prizes (like the X Prize for spaceflight) to encourage development of the necessary technologies.
'Space elevator' wins $900,000 NASA prize - space - 06 November 2009 - New Scientist
The Spaceward Foundation

Quite apart from the tourism opportunities, it would bring down (by a huge margin) the cost of putting satellites into orbit. Visionaries such as Clarke have taken it even further, looking forward to a time when there are numerous space elevators around the globe, eventually linked by a ring -- mind boggling!

they seem to have forgotten about plate tectonics? i mean, all it takes is for australia to move by 1meter and the whole elevator + ring can come crashing down
its my genuine concern really