The elusive concept of a space elevator has been around for more than a century, but until now it’s been difficult to imagine having the technology to actually make it happen. Canadian company Thoth Technology has been granted an American patent for an inflatable space elevator jutting 12.4 miles into the sky from Earth’s surface.

The goal of a space elevator isn’t to provide a roadway all the way to the moon or another destination. It’s all about elevating a space vehicle high enough that it won’t need as much lift as it would if it were taking off from the ground. A conventional launch requires rockets and a lot of heavy fuel to lift the vehicle. If the launch were to take place miles above the planet’s surface, there would be less of a gravity struggle to deal with, less fuel to use up, and a much lower cost to launch.

Using the Thoth elevator as a lift-off and landing place, the company estimates that space flights could use up to 30 percent less fuel per launch. The elevator’s platform would act as a place to launch, refuel, land, and relaunch – making space travel just a little more like conventional passenger jet travel.

The elevator, if ever constructed, could dramatically cut down on the cost of launching supplies and people into space. In the patent, the 20 km high structure is made of inflated sections held in place by pressurized gas. We’ll be interested to see how that construction stands up to the rigors of being so very tall and anchored to the Earth. In any case, the patent is a starting point, and the company can refine the details from there.

The post Going WAY Up: Inflatable Lift Will Cut Space Travel Costs first appeared on Gajitz.

The ‘Space Race’ between the US and the USSR during the 1960s can kind of be looked at as a sport. The Russians took a huge early lead, being the first to successfully launch a satellite; put an animal into space (poor Laika); and, as an almost ‘nail in the coffin,’ sent famed (and consequently doomed) cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit. All the US had to offer was to launch astronaut Alan Shepard into sub-orbit; he was in the air for less than half an hour. But this massive rocket the Soviets built turned out to be their downfall.

With the successful Apollo 11 program, the US did what was needed to win what in hindsight seems like a bizarre and macabre game. The Saturn V carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon for the first successful moon landing. Where were the Soviets? While Neil and Buzz were sauntering around and playing golf on the moon, the USSR was doing what they love most: Being secretive. They designed and built a rocket called the N1, a shuttle slightly shorter than the Saturn V but with much, much, much more fire power…too much, it turned out. The American space program strapped five huge engines on the Saturn V; the Soviets went the other route and used an astonishing thirty engines.

Although they were much smaller, 24 of them were assembled into a ring for the first launch stage. Their logic seems similar to the kind used by the crazy uncle we all have who, during a July 4^th celebration, thinks it’s a good idea to put two or three superfluous mortars into the firing tube. The USSR executed four test launches of the gargantuan N1. All were disastrous, especially the mega-blaze of glory that was the second attempt. Subsequently scrapped, the program was denied until 1989, as it was seen as a huge embarrassment.

(via Jalopnik)

The post Space Race or Insanity? Soviet Union’s Doomed Rockets first appeared on Gajitz.

John Coker is passionate about rocketry, so it stands to reason that he would put a great deal of work into any launch. But when he built a pack of eight crayon-themed rockets and planned to launch them all at once, he topped even himself. The project began in 1998, but had to be put on hold for a while. The rockets were eventually completed, and then launched, in 2004.

The rockets were built from scratch with Loc/Precision components. The noses and tail pieces (the two ends of the crayon) were custom-made from balsa wood and hardwood to achieve the ideal weight distribution. Vinyl decals were applied to the rockets’ bodies to represent the paper crayon wrappers.

After the painstaking painting and assembly phases, the rockets were placed into their “box” (which was actually a vinyl sign, behind which the rockets were launched) and taken out to meet their destiny. Unfortunately, only four of the eight rockets launched successfully, but the four that made it into the air looked absolutely awesome. This is how DIY tech projects should be done: passionately, wholeheartedly, and with a great sense of humor.

The post Coloring the Sky: Funny Home-Built Crayon Box Rockets first appeared on Gajitz.