LONDON: Thoth Technology has filed a patent for a 20-kilometre-tall platform from which spacecraft could be launched. Here are five things to know about the Pembroke, Ont. company’s tower, dubbed ‘ThothX’:
1: By building the elevator to only 20 kilometres, the tower would sit in the stratosphere rather than extending into geostationary orbit, where satellites fly, which is around 25,406 kilometres up.
2: From the top of the lift, spacecraft would launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top for refuelling. The tower would be inflatable, made with reinforced segments and topped with a runway from which satellite payloads could be launched. It would stay upright using complex arrangements of flywheels to compensate for bending.
3: Cargo would be transported to the top by pressurized cars travelling up the inner core or climbing the outside like a funicular railway.
4: Rockets are incredibly inefficient because they need huge amounts of power to get off the ground. Thoth estimates the lift would cut the cost of space flight by about one-third. The tower could also be used for scientific research, communications and energy generation via wind turbines.
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