Canadian Space Company awarded patent for Space elevator to carry astronauts 20-Km up into space

With every passing day, new ideas are opening up in the field of space exploration and the space elevator is the latest entrant. Once a concept, it could very soon become a reality because a Canadian space company has recently been awarded a patent for just that.
Its space elevator could reach up to 20-Km above the Earth's surface and, once operational, astronauts would take off for space missions from this elevator. It is, no doubt, in the conceptual stage but have been billed as a cheaper alternative to rocket launches. This would be especially true when it comes to sending heavy objects or people into space.
This has been reported in space.com dated 17 August 2015.

As explained by Thoth Technology Inc., the company that has been awarded the patent, the space elevator would be 30 percent cheaper than the fuel required by a conventional rocket. Moreover, it would be a fully reusable system and that would reduce the costs still further.
The sequence of events would be - astronauts would ascend to 20 km by electrical elevator and from the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit. They will return to the top of the tower for to refuel and take off again.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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