A squad of Japanese researcher say they are planning to test out a prototype distance elevator later this month , with the hope of building the real matter one daytime .
The scientists from Shizuoka University will set up their small box , 6 centimeters ( 2.4 inches ) long , on a Japanese H-2B garden rocket on September 10 to the International Space Station ( ISS ) , where it will after be released .
" It ’s going to be the humans ’s first experiment to test lift bowel movement in blank , " a spokesperson for the university toldAFP .
Consisting of two spacecraft , the plan is for them to separate in space , obtain together by a cable television service 10 m ( 33 foot ) long . A mini lift will then go along the taut cable , with cameras on the satellites monitor its progress .
“ The couple of satellites will be released from the International Space Station ( ISS ) , and a container acting like an elevator car will be moved on a cable system connecting the satellite using a motor , ” Japanese newspaperThe Mainichisaid .
The project is being conducted in coaction with Japanese construction firm Obayashi . Back in 2012 , the Tokyo - based company unveil theirbold proposalto build up an operational space lift by 2050 .
“ The quad elevator is planned to be built by the year 2050 with a capacity to carry 100 - long ton climbers , ” they write on theirwebsite . “ It is composed of a 96,000 - kilometer C carbon nanotube cable , a 400 - meter diameter floating Earth Port and a 12,500 - short ton heel counter - weighting .
“ Other facility include Martian / Lunar Gravity Centers , a Low Earth Orbit Gate , a Geostationary Earth Orbit Station , a Mars Gate and a Solar System Exploration Gate . ”
That means this test run in orbit is a rather center - open 1.6 billion time short than the specify distance of the wind up space elevator . So do n’t hold your breath for it to be completed any time before long .
As Obayashi enounce , they will need a counterweight far beyond geostationary orbit to support a place 36,000 kilometre ( 22,000 international mile ) high in geostationary orbit . The transmission line would reach 96,000 klick ( 60,000 mi ) in duration , as they note .
That ’s , well , passably ambitious . NASA has antecedently heldspace elevator contest , but most teams struggled to reach a height of tens of meters . Thousands of kilometer might be a morsel of a stretch decent now .
The Mainichi mention the pods of the elevator would travel at up to 200 kilometer ( 125 mile ) per hour , making the misstep to the blank station in eight days . The cost of the project is reckon at $ 90 billion , corresponding to the magnetic levitation train project colligate Tokyo and Osaka .
So , who knows , mayhap this test will spawn a unexampled geological era of lift . More likely , it will be an interesting technology demonstration – but one that might not ship us all to the stars just yet .
