Space elevator would climb incredible 20-kilometer tower in ambitious Canadian plan
- 8 years ago
PEMBROKE, ONTARIO, CANADA — A Canadian space company wants to build a space elevator that reaches 20 kilometers high.
The company is called Thoth and the concept is called the Thoth X tower. The idea is to build a tower with reinforced inflatable sections. The middle is hollow. An elevator car would encircle the tower until it reaches the top.
Thoth estimates the tower would cost $5 billion to construct. As a demonstration project, it would build a precursor tower measuring 1.5 kilometers tall.
One feature of the project is the wind farm about three quarters of the way up. The 50 turbines could produce 1 gigawatt of continuous energy. That’s enough to power about 700,000 homes.
The main purpose of the tower is to provide a take-off and landing platform for spacecraft. If your aircraft takes off at a 20 kilometer altitude, you can get to space in a single stage without the need for additional fuel stages.
Thoth estimates this would save 30% on energy costs.
The company is called Thoth and the concept is called the Thoth X tower. The idea is to build a tower with reinforced inflatable sections. The middle is hollow. An elevator car would encircle the tower until it reaches the top.
Thoth estimates the tower would cost $5 billion to construct. As a demonstration project, it would build a precursor tower measuring 1.5 kilometers tall.
One feature of the project is the wind farm about three quarters of the way up. The 50 turbines could produce 1 gigawatt of continuous energy. That’s enough to power about 700,000 homes.
The main purpose of the tower is to provide a take-off and landing platform for spacecraft. If your aircraft takes off at a 20 kilometer altitude, you can get to space in a single stage without the need for additional fuel stages.
Thoth estimates this would save 30% on energy costs.