Japan to carry out first space elevator test next week

Where elevators are common on Earth, they might be something unique in space and more like a sci-fi dream, and Japan is just trying to make that dream a reality.

Researchers from Japan’s Shizuoka University have decided to turn the concept of space elevators into a reality and are almost ready to carry out the first test of elevator movement in space.

Space elevator is meant to transport people and cargo in an elevator car travelling on a cable connecting Earth to a space station, explained CNET.

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The team plans to test its space elevator design via a scaled-down version of the system. The elevator in the test is actually a 2.4-inches long box and 1.1-inches high. At full scale, the box will be large enough to transport actual supplies to space, reported Futurism.

Next week on September 11, Japan’s space agency will launch an H-2B rocket carrying two mini satellites. One of those satellites will contain the elevator stand-in. As soon as it reaches space, motors will power the box like a celestial tightrope walker along a cable strung between the two mini satellites positioned 10-meters apart from each other. The motion of the box will be monitored via cameras placed on the satellites.

The researchers expect the elevator to travel up to 200km per hour and reach at the International Space Station (ISS) eight days after its launch. If Japan succeeds to accomplish this, it will open up ways to have cheaper way to transport supplies and people to space. Experts predict that it can reduce costs of delivering goods from $22,000 per kg to only $220 per kg.