Japan Takes Tiny First Step Toward Space Elevator

he problem with rockets is that they are expensive, mostly single use and occasionally have been known to explode. That’s why for over a century scientists and sci-fi writers alike have dreamed of creating a space elevator to ferry astronauts and payloads between the Earth and low orbit. Building this “celestial castle,” as Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky first envisioned back in 1895, has so far proven beyond the grasp of existing technologies. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying. Now, as Agence France-Presse reports, researchers at Japan’s Shizuoka University will test elevator motion in space next week in a first-of-its-kind experiment in hopes of advancing the concept.

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(Obayashi Corporation)

An artist’s rendering of a space elevator.

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Japanese company Obayashi has introduced a space elevator construction concept, which could be built by the year 2050.