According to Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” reported on the 23rd, “taking elevators directly into space” may no longer be a fantasy, Japan’s Dalin Construction Company announced the construction of a “space elevator” plan. It is hoped that by 2050, people can not use a spaceship. Only an elevator can make a dream of space.
According to Japanese media reports, the space elevator that Daelim Co., Ltd. is building is not made of ordinary steel, but made of carbon nanotubes that are 20 times stronger than steel. The space elevator is available for 30 people. It is expected to take a week to reach the space station with a height of 36,000 kilometers.
The concept of space elevators has long appeared in science fiction. After man discovered carbon nanotubes in 1990, Dalin judged that space elevators were no longer a distant dream. Other organizations such as NASA began similar research.
The space elevator cable designed by Dalin Company has a total length of one-fourth of the distance from the Earth to the moon, which is approximately 96,000 kilometers. The elevator cable is fixed at a fixed point on the earth's surface, then thrown off with the centrifugal force of the Earth's rotation, and at the other end is a balanced plumb bob. The middle part of the elevator cable is a space station where the experimental facilities and living space will be built.
The elevator will go up and down at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour and it will take 7 and a half days for one way. The facilities around the space station will use solar energy to generate electricity. The power generation facilities will also deliver electricity to the ground. Dalin Company stated that the company currently faces the challenge of whether it can produce carbon nanotubes on a large scale at a low cost and whether related organizations around the world are willing to work together to manufacture this world’s first “space elevator”.
A spokesman for Dalin said: "At present, we cannot estimate the cost of this project. However, we will step by step to ensure that the space elevator program will not be just a dream."
Some experts have pointed out that currently carbon nanotubes are only millimeter-sized products, and they are far from practical. It is costly to launch various elevator construction materials into space more than 30,000 kilometers away. Once this “space elevator” collapses due to a serious accident, Loss in the air and on the ground will also be staggering. Experts believe that in the face of these difficulties, "space elevators" will be difficult to start in the short term.
