JAPAN — A team of researchers from Shizuoka University plan to develop a miniature "space elevator" to connect Earth and the International Space Station with a cable.<br /><br />According to The Mainichi Shumbun, the researchers plan to develop an approximately 10-meter-long high-strength steel cable, with carbon nanotube being considered to be used as the primary material.<br /><br />They also plan to release a pair of satellites that would connect with the cable, and would measure around 10 centimeters on each side.<br /><br />The space elevator would be made up of six oval-shaped cars, which would be about 18 meters long and 7.2 meters wide.<br /><br />A camera would also be attached to the satellites which would record the elevator as it moves in space.<br /><br />The researchers expect the elevator to travel up to 200 kilometers per hour and carry people as well as cargo shipments into space by 2050.<br /><br />However, the researchers worry there might be problems such as the elevator colliding with space debris, meteorites or even the transmission of electricity from earth to space.
