Japanese company to construct space elevator by 2050

Finally, a Japanese invention that doesn’t boggle the mind. Tokyo-based engineers at Obayashi Corp have announced plans to build a space elevator by the middle of the century.

A genuine Stairway to Heaven, or as close as they can get it. Apparently the elevator will go 22,000 miles into orbit and carry 30 passengers at a time, taking up to a week to reach the Moon.

An artist's illustration of a space elevator hub station in space as a transport car rides up the line toward the orbital platform. Solar panels nearby provide power.

CREDIT: Obayashi Corp.

The device would carry passengers skyward at about 124 mph (200 kph), delivering them to a station 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth in a little more than a week.

In Obayashi's vision, a cable would be stretched from a spaceport on Earth's surface up to an altitude of 60,000 miles (96,000 km), or about one-quarter of the distance between our planet and the moon. A counterweight at its end would help "anchor" the cable in space.

A 30-passenger car would travel along the cable, possibly using magnetic linear motors as a means of propulsion, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.