[ad_1]
Sorry this isn’t a Cambodian project, but it was fun to share with you all. Hope you don’t mind!
————————————————————————————————————
Yomiuri Shimbun
A major construction company has announced that it may be possible to travel to space in an elevator as early as 2050.
Tokyo-based Obayashi Corp. on Monday unveiled a project to build a giant elevator that could carry passengers to a station 36,000 kilometers above Earth.
For the envisioned project, the company will use carbon nanotubes, which are 20 times stronger than steel, to produce the cables for the space elevator.
The concept of a space elevator has been described in several science fiction novels, but Obayashi believes that it is possible to build a space elevator in the real world with the help of carbon nanotubes invented in the 1990s.
Other organizations have also been looking into the development of space elevators, such as NASA.
In Obayashi’s project, the cable will stretch to 96,000 kilometers, about a quarter of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. One end of the cable will be anchored to a spaceport on the ground, while a counterweight will be attached to the other end.
The terminal will have laboratories and living quarters. The vehicle can carry up to 30 people and has a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, which means it will take seven and a half days to reach the station. Obayashi said magnetic linear motors are a possible propulsion method for the vehicle.
Solar power generation facilities will also be set up around the terminal to transmit electricity to the ground, the company added.
The company said two key issues facing the development of a space elevator are whether carbon nanotubes can be mass-produced in a sufficiently economical way and whether organizations around the world can collaborate.
An official from Daelim Group said: “At present, we cannot estimate the cost of the project. However, we will try to move forward steadily so that it does not end up being just a dream.”
Read the original article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120221004421.htm
[ad_2]
Source link
