First 'space elevator' — a 66,000-mile cable to the cosmos— closer than ever before as scientists make breakthrough - New York Post
Scientists are making progress on the concept of a space elevator, a 66,000-mile cable designed to transport goods and people into space using electricity. The International Space Elevator Consortium is exploring the use of graphene as a potential material for the tether.
Why it matters
A functional space elevator could revolutionize space travel by significantly reducing the cost and environmental impact of launching payloads into orbit.
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Add The New York Post on Google On a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston last week, President Trump promised American astronauts would establish a permanent presence on the Moon before pushing forward to Mars.
“Our nation will conquer … this vast frontier that we have before us … We will explore it, we will tame it, and we will win it,” he said of America’s present “golden age” of space exploration.
But researchers thinking of truly big ideas say we’ll never get there with today’s inefficient chemical rocket technology. And they point to an important breakthrough.
“We’re really pushing for permanent infrastructure, like a bridge replacing ferries to cross a river,” Pete Swan, president of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC), a nonprofit research and advocacy hub, told The Post.
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