According to a report in a Japanese newspaper, Tokyo-based Obayashi Corporation is seriously pursuing building a space elevator by 2050.
A space elevator would lift people and cargo into orbit without the need of a rocket launch. Similar to using an elevator in a building, a person would step into a car on Earth's surface, for example, and the car would ride up cables into space. In the Obayashi plan, the super strong cables made of carbon nanotubes would be 60,000 miles long and attached to a counterweight in space to keep them taut. That system could deliver a payload to geosynchronous orbit, 22,000 miles out, after a week of steady climbing. The elevator could be powered by solar energy.
Obayashi suggests the biggest obstacle to be overcome to bring this project into reality may be financing it.
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