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Canadian Company to Build 12-Mile Tower that Will Be Used in Space Travel

Flying through space is the future. Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson are just two of the millionaires looking to find newer and cheaper ways to do it. Greater and more advanced engines working with modern fuels are one way. But there’s a Canadian company that was recently granted a patent for a 12-mile tall tower which would be used as a launch ramp for future spaceships.
Canadian Company to Build 12-Mile Tower that Will Be Used in Space Travel 1 photo
Photo: Thoth Technology
Canadian space company, Thoth Technology Inc., has been granted the United States patent for what they call a space elevator. It’s a freestanding space tower reaching 20 km above the planet, which means it would be around 20 times taller than the tallest structure in existence. The first thing you can think of is how would a structure of that size stand without falling. Well, according to its makers, it would be pneumatically pressurized and actively guided over its base.

The purpose? The technology offers an exciting new way to access space using completely reusable hardware and saving more than 30% of the fuel of a conventional rocket. We’re talking about millions of dollars in savings, which is more than impressive. Here’s how the tower’s structure looks like according to the patent:

The space elevator tower has a segmented elevator core structure, each segment being formed of at least one pneumatically pressurized cell. The pressure cells may be filled with air or another gas. Elevator cars may ascend or descend on the outer surface of the elevator core structure or in a shaft on the interior of the elevator core structure. A payload may be launched from a pod or deck at the upper end of the space elevator tower. The space elevator tower is stabilized by gyroscopic and active control machinery. The space elevator tower maintains a desired pressure level through gas compressor machinery. Methods of constructing the space elevator are also disclosed.

Sure, the idea sounds all 21st-century like with the preps and specs to impress any Science geek out there; but will it ever see the sky? I mean, imagine the costs of a structure that big, not to mention the conditions you need to finish it.
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