If you start now to travel the whole world you don’t have to fear to not have any new travel destinations left after your years of travel. Since several years back, there have been talk that tourists traveling into space soon is becoming more possible than ever.
Just think about it, sitting in a sky hotel bar in a stationary orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth sipping on our glasses of Dom Perignon… That’s what I call a spectacular view!
There have been expressions like “take the elevator to heaven”, “the stairway to heaven” or “the space elevator” used. The reason for this becoming more possible is that they have found the material strong enough for it that was missing earlier.
Even though it seem to have existed even earlier on, it’s just that we haven’t been aware of it.
“Scientists have recently discovered carbon nanotubes in the damascene steel they used in the Middle Ages to make Saracen swords which might explain what made them so exceptional.”
They call it nanotubes, microscopic cylinders of carbon and the worlds strongest material. It’s now developed by several different companies. In one experiment one sheet of nanotubes could support 50,000 times its own mass. It’s 100 times stronger than steel with a sixth of the weight and as rigid as diamonds, can stretch beyond 20% of their rest length and able to withstand extreme temperatures.
They are now investigating how to build such an elevator to heaven. One solution could be a base station on Earth and an orbiting satellite and solar-powered climbers that would crawl up a single cable into space. The cable would be up by the rotation of a 600-ton satellite counter-weight, similar to a heavy object at a spinning rope.
All this would be happening during our time here, it’s no long term project, they claims it’s possible within 15 years!
It would allow spacecraft to ride the cable into orbit, giving us a much cheaper, safer and environmentally-friendly way of launching spacecraft.
There are other useful examples of how to use it too. Like much smaller and more energy efficient computer chips, radiation-proof textiles, thin bullet-proof jackets, dent-resistant car bodies, suspension bridges spanning enormous distances and earthquake-resistant buildings to mention some.
Something along the way that we need to think about is the fears that an aircraft would crash into the elevator ribbon – or Space debris and terrorism. That’s also why the developers propose a floating base near the equator, more than 400 miles from the nearest flight path.
They claim that should the 800-ton ribbon break, it would either fly into space or fall back to the ground in fragments that would, in theory, hit no harder than a sheet of paper.
I’m not so sure that I wanna be there then… *giggles*
Think if it were possible to build up airlines with ordinary flights by nanotubes. What a reduce of greenhouse emissions that cause climate change!
Well, you never know, they might come up with something else 
Sources:
- Stairway to heaven
- Chalmers University research about nanotubes
- The Nanotube Site
- Worlds strongest material
- When can we take the elevator to heaven
- Wanted Inventors to Build Space Elevator
Captain ♥Space Lifecruiser
I can’t really wait for that time to come just like those in the movies wherein they just travel from planet to planet!
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I am not sure I would be that interested in doing tousist space travel, there are still way too many cool places on our own planet I havent been to.
I have now lived in the Philippines for about 7 years (Originally from Europe) and even in these 7 years I havent seen much really. Sure I have travelled across the country here, but there are still so many places I wanna see.
Guy
Thanks for your interest in the project, we appreciate it.
It will be a great view! As you rise slowly to 22,300 miles above the earth, the planet will shrink and shrink, and over the course of about 1 week, you will loose your “weight”. By the time you get to the station, to have the glass of champagne, it will have to be in a sealed “sippy cup” so that the liquid does not slosh around. But I will be there, in the observation lounge, waiting for you!
Take care. mjl
SpaceElevator Guy (Michael Laine)’s last blog post..Re: Ribbon Power?
[...] response to this blog about the Space Elevator: http://lifecruiser.org/archive/future-travel-by-nanotube/ Thanks for your interest in the project, we appreciate [...]
So are you and me meeting in a nanotube soon? I kinda like that thought
In fact, I’d like to meet you Captain on
Wednesday 
at 11:32 in the 
Socrates Wacko Nanotube 
near Mercury. Are you available?
Ev Nucci’s last blog post..How to change the world and touch lives…one blog at a time!
imagine it … what would our great grandparents have thought of the internet let alone the new jumbo Planes …so in our lifetime for sure things like this may happen.
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Nanotube technology is still years away, but I think it will change the world. In a whole new way.
I think I saw that somewhere. If I remember correctly, there is a long ribbon attached to a hovering satellite and this super strong ribbon can then be used like the cables in an elevator to pull the elevator up. Great concept, not sure I would want to be the first one on though
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This will help us in escaping the earth,,. lol