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Space Elevator One of the most unusual technologies which space may hold for us humans in the future is a space elevator. A space elevator is a far-out space transportation system for the next century that may very well slash down the rates of space transport from the existing $22000 per kg to $1.48 per kg. It is essentially a long cable extending from our planet's surface into space, with its center of mass at geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), 35,786 km in altitude. The cable is uninterrupted except for a space station at the geostationary point. The space station acts as a counterweight. This spinning counterweight creates centrifugal force, making the elevator move up in space, only the initial launch energy is drawn from the ground. NASA is proposing that the counterweight could also be an asteroid moved into a precise position and placed into orbit thousands of miles from Earth. How realistic is this idea? Very much so. Let us now see the challenges, which are being faced in designing a space elevator.
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