Japan\'s Top Minds, Companies Look to Beat U.S. to Space Elevator

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Will Japan be the winner of the space elevator race?


From wallet cell-phones to robotic maids, Japan has seemingly beenone step ahead of the U.S. in hot technology for the last coupledecades. The hottest products in the U.S., like the iPhone, arepassé in Japan.

Perhaps, it is not surprising that Japan is looking beat the U.S. to become the first to construct a space elevator. While the U.S.still struggles, trying to devise a better rocket-launched spaceplane, Japan is considering becoming the first to bypasstraditional launches, in the process saving time, money, andenergy. While Japan's top tech gurus have certainly had theirshare of flops in both research and commercial offerings, they'relooking to make the space elevator one of the many success stories .

The idea of a space elevator, popular fodder for science fictionwriters, was brought to the masses by one of the fathers of science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke in a 1979 book, The Fountains of Paradise . Since, scientists have begun to understand that the idea hasgreat merit as, unlike most science fiction devices, it does notrely on exotic or undiscovered physics, but delivers very realgains. Space elevators could take away much of the danger ofshuttle launches, and could carry cargo using less than a hundredthof the energy used by a space shuttle. A space elevator would opencivilian space travel, and would allow vast amounts of cargo to betransported in space, paving the way for large space stations ormoon bases.

Shuichi Ono, chairman of the Japan Space Elevator Associationdescribes, "Just like travelling abroad, anyone will be able toride the elevator into space."

Mr. Ono is working with Japan's top researchers to actualize thetech. The challenge is daunting. The greatest obstacle is thatthe elevator will require cables made of composite materialsstronger and lighter than any material yet woven. These cableswill be 22,000 mile-long (36,000km) and will be anchored to theground and to geosynchronous satellites in orbit. Another keychallenge will be developing elevator carriages to ride on thesecables. These carriages must be capable of climbing the cables andbe shielded to keep the passengers safe . According to Mr. Ono, the elevator organization has the supportof some of Japan's biggest companies, who are helping to design thecarriages.

Japan's experts claim they will soon have a space elevator. Andthey claim they will be able to do it on a bafflingly low budget --a trillion yen ($9.5B USD). However, the claim is slightly morebelievable when you consider Japan's leadership in precisionengineering and material science.

Japan's big textile companies are focusing on developing mass-producing carbon nanotube sheets and ribbons , which will be a likely candidate for the elevator cables due totheir ideal strength, flexibility, and light weight . Nanotube cables could survive the heat, electrical discharges,and physical collisions that might occur in the atmosphere and atthe lower reaches of space.

Yoshio Aoki, a professor of precision machinery engineering atNihon University and a director of the Japan Space ElevatorAssociation says that the carbon nanotube cable would have to befour times stronger than the strongest nanotubes currentlyavailable, which are 180 times stronger than steel. However, he'sconfident this strength will soon be achieved as strength has beenincreased 100 times in the last 5 years.

As to the carriages, Aoki says that he and his colleagues alreadyhave plans. He states, "We are thinking of using the technologyemployed in our bullet trains. Carbon nanotubes are goodconductors of electricity, so we are thinking of having a secondcable to provide power all along the route."

Japan's top researchers are hosting an international conference inNovember, which they hope to draw up a timetable for the projectat.

In the U.S., various private firms have been working on the tech ashas NASA, though it has had relatively little progress and isunderfunded. There's a running space elevator competition , but thus far no company has met the basic criteria to be declareda victor.