🇺🇸 Scientists say a 66,000-mile “space elevator” connecting Earth directly to space may have just moved closer to reality.
The idea is to stretch an ultra-strong cable from Earth’s equator far beyond geostationary orbit, allowing electrically powered vehicles to climb into space without rockets.
The breakthrough could be polycrystalline graphene: researchers have already produced sheets up to 1,000 meters long, and scientists believe the material could eventually be strong and light enough for the enormous tether.
In theory, it could haul 30,000 tons into space every year.
Don't hold your breath, though; theory and reality are very different beasts
Source: NY Post / Writer: Mhedi