Stairway to heaven could be a reality
Published: 10 June, 2009, 01:58
Canadian scientists say they can build a giant tower that would carry people to the edge of space. Specialists say the plan could be a realistic alternative to a space elevator.
According to a report in the New Scientist, a group of scientists from York University in Toronto have offered to build the tower using inflatable pneumatic tubes filled with a light gas like helium. Each module would be 150 meters high, 230 meters wide and would consist of inflatable tubes with a diameter of about two meters.
The scientists said that 100 such modules could be assembled into a 15km tower, which if built from a mountain top could reach an altitude of about 20 kilometers. That would make the construction ideal for atmospheric research, tourism, telecoms and launching spacecrafts.
"Twenty kilometres up is about as dark as outer space. You can see about 600 kilometres in any direction," Brendan Quine of the research group said.
The scientists said the tower would allow potential tourists the experience of a space view without coping with zero gravity.
To be able to stand still, the 800,000-ton construction would be provided with gyroscopes and stabilization systems in each module. The team say the construction would be damage-proof.
The proponents of the idea said the giant construction would be an alternative to a potential space elevator. Compared to the latter, the tower would use materials that are already available while super-strong nanotubes, which would be required for a space lift, have yet to be developed.
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1 comment
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It is realy an excelant idea, but it is not new. It is VERY ancient. Long ago an evil king named Nimrod built the well known Tower of Babel. So the question is if people of ancient civilizations had a higher technology... Apart from this, such a structure would be very useful for communications and radars and of course for launching spaceships.
Hardly an alternative to a space elevator. It would be useless for launching satellites or spacecraft.