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posted by CoolHand on Tuesday August 18 2015, @11:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the believe-when-we-see-it dept.

A Canadian company, Thoth Technology Inc, has been awarded a patent for an inflatable space elevator.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/space-elevator-could-lift-people-12-miles-up-in-the-air/

A Canadian space company was recently awarded a patent for a space elevator that would reach about 12 miles (20 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.

...

According to Thoth Technology Inc., the company that was awarded the patent, the U.S. patent allows for an elevator that would be 30 percent cheaper than the fuel required by a conventional rocket. Also, the system would be fully reusable, further reducing costs, the company said.

"Astronauts would ascend to 20 km by electrical elevator," inventor Brendan Quine said in a statement. "From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight."


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Dunbal on Wednesday August 19 2015, @12:01AM

    by Dunbal (3515) on Wednesday August 19 2015, @12:01AM (#224684)

    Yeah Canada has never patented anything useful. Apart from the telephone. And insulin. And electron microscopes... and

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  • (Score: 2) by davester666 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @06:38AM

    by davester666 (155) on Wednesday August 19 2015, @06:38AM (#224856)

    the Canadarm.

    Of course, the US just used it to masterbate...