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Space elevator that takes tourists 22k miles into orbit could be built within 40 years

By staff 22/02/2012 09:16:00

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By Julian Gavaghan

Last updated at 2:58 PM on 22nd February 2012

Japanese engineers are drawing up plans to put tourists into space within 40 years using a massive elevator that travels more than 22,000 miles into orbit.

If created, up to 30 passengers at a time would spend a week travelling a quarter of a way to the moon at speeds of 120mph.

At the end they would reach a space station where they could get an astronaut’s view of the Earth with little or no training beforehand.

Plans: An elevator, like this one shown in this artist's impression, could be made using carbon fibre that travels from the Earth to a station 22,000 miles into the orbit

There are also plans that could allow scientists to travel beyond this first station using carbon fibre ribbon that is anchored to our planet from a satellite in space.

The construction, which echoes the vision of British science fiction author Arthur C Clarke, is estimated to cost £6billion.

Satomi Katsuyama, the project’s creator, said: ‘Humans have long adored high towers. But rather than building it from the earth, we will construct it from the space.’

THE VISIONS OF ARTHUR C CLARKE

Plans fora space elevator echo the visions of science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke.

The creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey, who died in 2008, imagined this in his 1979 novel The Fountains of Paradise.

The British writer, pictured below at his office in Sri Lanka, has made other outlandish predictions that came true.

In 1945 he famously wrote an article in Wireless World predicting that, one day, it would be possible to use satellites in fixed 'geostationary' orbits, 23,000 miles above the Earth, as in effect giant radio masts, allowing radio, telephony and television signals to be relayed from any point on the planet to another.

Although this was a dozen years before the first satellite would be launched, Clarke had come up with the idea for worldwide satellite broadcast.

Dr Obayashi is confident her plan will work, although admits that the locations of the construction and who would pay for it are still unknown.

Previous suggestions have included using a platform in the ocean off Ecuador as a station on Earth because this is near the equator and closer to the orbit.

Dr Obayashi is just days away from completing work on Japan’s tallest structure, the Tokyo Sky Tree, which will stand 2,080 feet tall.

The tower will serve as a digital broadcasting antenna as well as a sightseeing attraction that allows uninterrupted views of the Japanese capital and beyond.

‘We were inspired by construction of Sky Tree,’ which will open for business in May, she said. ‘Our experts on construction, climate, wind patterns, design, they say it's possible.’

When Obayashi is not drawing up plans to conquer space it works on a number of projects from building corporate headquarters, bridges and power plants to renovating ancient temples.

Among its portfolio are the Dubai Metro in United Arab Emirates, Universal Studios Osaka, Japan, and Stadium Australia, which was used for the Sydney Olympics.

If realised the space elevators could become another of the outlandish predictions by Clarke, who died in 2008, to become reality.

In 1945, Clarke made perhaps his most famous and accurate prediction.

He wrote an article in Wireless World predicting that, one day, it would be possible to use satellites in fixed 'geostationary' orbits, 23,000 miles above the Earth, as in effect giant radio masts, allowing radio, telephony and television signals to be relayed from any point on the planet to another.

Although this was a dozen years before the first satellite would be launched, Clarke had come up with the idea for worldwide satellite broadcasts.

Vision: A rendering of a sea platform, which could be used at the Earth base for the elevator

One short story made him famous.

The Sentinel - a tale of a mysterious alien race which had accelerated human evolution - was noticed by the film director Stanley Kubrick, who met Clarke in Trader Vic's bar in New York to discuss how it could be turned into 'the perfect science fiction movie'.

From the roof of Kubrick's Manhattan apartment, the pair spotted a mysterious object tracking across the sky. The UFO was, they decided, a good omen and they signed the deal. (The UFO turned out to be a secret Pentagon spy satellite). The result was spectacular.

And 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968, has been hailed by its fans as the best science fiction movie ever made.

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