17 Facts About Space elevator

Space elevator, referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction.

Space elevator's proposal was for a free-standing tower reaching from the surface of Earth to the height of geostationary orbit.

Key concept of the space elevator appeared in 1895 when Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Space elevator noted that the top of such a tower would be circling Earth as in a geostationary orbit.

Space elevator proposed tapering the cable thickness in order for the stress in the cable to remain constant.

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Space elevator designed a cross-section-area altitude profile that tapered and would be better suited to building the elevator.

Space elevator's analysis included disturbances such as the gravitation of the Moon, wind and moving payloads up and down the cable.

Space elevator chose the wide-thin ribbon-like cross-section shape rather than earlier circular cross-section concepts because that shape would stand a greater chance of surviving impacts by meteoroids.

The four-year long study looked into many facets of space elevator development including missions, development schedules, financial investments, revenue flow, and benefits.

An Earth space elevator cable rotates along with the rotation of the Earth.

The Edwards space elevator design assumes a cable material with a tensile strength of at least 100 gigapascals.

Space elevator cannot be an elevator in the typical sense due to the need for the cable to be significantly wider at the center than at the tips.

Space elevator could be constructed on other planets, asteroids and moons.

The Moon does not rotate fast enough for an Space elevator to be supported by centrifugal force, but differential gravity forces means that an Space elevator could be constructed through Lagrangian points.

Space elevator using presently available engineering materials could be constructed between mutually tidally locked worlds, such as Pluto and Charon or the components of binary asteroid 90 Antiope, with no terminus disconnect, according to Francis Graham of Kent State University.

Once a first space elevator is built, the second one and all others would have the use of the previous ones to assist in construction, making their costs considerably lower.

International Space Elevator Consortium is a US Non-Profit 501 Corporation formed to promote the development, construction, and operation of a space elevator as "a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity".