Canadian 'space elevator' aims to kickstart orbital tourism

Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 12:55 PM - Looking to get to space on the cheap? Canadian company Thoth Technologies just patented a relatively inexpensive, reusable space elevator that could someday launch astronauts and tourists into orbit from 20 kilometres up!

One of the consistent challenges faced by NASA, Roscosmos, SpaceX and others launching rockets into orbit is the amount of thrust, and thus rocket fuel, required by a spacecraft to break free of Earth's gravity.

If you could cut 20 kilometres off the journey, however, it would effectively eliminate the need for the first stage of your rocket and the fuel that was necessary to get the rocket to that height above the ground. In fact, it would likely completely shift the way we design current launch vehicles, moving us back towards the days of the space shuttle program.

That is the plan behind the new space elevator designed and now patented by Thoth Technology, a Canadian space industry based in Pembroke, Ontario.

ThothX Tower, a 20 km tall space elevator. Credit: THOTHX.COM

ThothX Tower, as the company calls it, would likely be made from multiple reinforced sections, each pressurized to maintain the structure and containing gases to keep the tower buoyant in the atmosphere. Those riding to the top or returning to Earth could travel in elevator cars that would either spiral around the core or around the outside of the structure - a design feature that could also help to keep the tower stabilized.

At the top of the tower, a rigid structure would provide space for a runway, which would be used by space planes to land and take off. Thus, travelling to orbit would involve a longer tram-ride to the terminal, but otherwise it would be just like taking off from your local airport on a trip to another Earth-based destination.

ThothX Tower's spaceport. Credit: THOTHX.COM

Coupled with more traditional launch pads that could accommodate reusable rockets like SpaceX's Falcon 9, and possibly launch tubes to deliver satellite payloads into orbit, ThothX Tower could cater to the needs of governments, corporations and space tourists alike.

Although only in the earliest design stages now, and one of several designs developed by various companies and teams over the years, Thoth's concept avoids the need for the space elevator to stretch all the way into space. Many designs thought up in the past required an anchor or counterweight for the system well out in space, positioning the centre of mass of the system in geostationary orbit (35,786 km above Earth's surface).

Thoth's design would reside fully within Earth's atmosphere, with the spaceport located in the stratosphere, limiting the cost of the structure while also solving certain problems with strength and stability.

The spaceport's height above the surface would only add about 5-10 km/h speed to spaceport, relative to the speed the base is moving as the Earth rotates. However, the real benefit in launching from 20 kilometres above the surface would be the lower air density, which is less than one-tenth was it is at the surface. Thus, rocket launches and space plane launches would require less fuel - about 30 per cent less, by the company's estimation.

With reusable vehicles in use, this would substantially reduce the cost of flights, making space tourism much more feasible for the average person.

Not their first space rodeo

Thoth Technologies - named for the Egyptian god associated with science, astronomy and the Moon - has been operating since 2001, designing microsatellite systems that can measure greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere from space, and that could soon be investigating the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting distant stars.

The company made headlines in November of 2014 as they began their Northern Light campaign - a plan to put a Canadian lander and rover team on Mars in 2018 - and they also have aspirations for Canadian lunar missions.

ThothX Tower is just their latest contribution to space exploration. 

Science Fiction made real

The concept behind space elevators is certainly not a new one. The first idea of a tower that reached into space was presented 120 years ago, by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and has been featured in many works of science fiction.

The massive structures featured in works of fiction have long been attributed to technologically advanced societies, however Thoth's design could make this much more feasible with current technologies, potentially lifting the concept from the pages of fiction and turning it into reality.

Sources: Thoth Technologies | US Patent Office | NASA