The space elevator has been called a “stairway to the heavens,” but making one work comes with massive engineering challenges. In this video, I dive into the details - from counterweights to tethers ...

The human body can withstand much greater loads than its sheer material strength would suggest. Sprinters can push an Achilles tendon to more than 75 percent of its tensile strength, while ...

The push for a space elevator took a step forward this week when a team of researchers from Shizuoka University in Japan announced that they will launch an experiment to the International Space ...

Once confined to the realm of science fiction, space elevators are now being seriously considered by engineers. This video explores the physics, materials, and orbital mechanics that make the concept ...

IT MIGHT be in Indonesia. Maybe Brazil. Possibly on a barge floating in the Pacific Ocean. Wherever it ends up, somewhere on the equator the world’s tallest structure will jut out into space, a ...

A pair of tiny satellites that will help test technology for a space elevator is on its way to the International Space Station. At 1:52 p.m. EDT on September 22, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ...

Admittedly, at least for now, the idea of a beanstalk-style space elevator connecting Earth and space is a stretch. But next month’s X Prize Cup will host the Space Elevator Games, an unprecedented ...

In the Era of Civilian Space Travel, What Laws Do We Bring with Us? Space travel technology, such as the space elevator, will bring average citizens beyond Earth’s atmosphere sooner than you’d think.