Space Elevator

Scientists Found a Possible Deal Breaker in the Quest to Build a Space Elevator

Carbon nanotubes have been pegged as the wonder material that could finally allow us to build a space elevator. A discouraging new study suggests these microscopic strands aren’t as resilient as we thought—and all it could take is a single misplaced atom to bring the whole thing crashing down. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tiny hollow…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jun 13

10 Theoretical Megastructures, From Big to Massive

For much of its modern history, science fiction has had a particular fascination with engineering, with authors and artists imagining fantastic, massive structures in the depths of space. Here are 10 of them, from incredibly large to unbelievably massive. 1) Space Elevator Heralded as one of the ways to open up access to space permanently…

io9 Andrew Liptak Jun 7

How Would a Real Space Elevator Work and Is It Even Possible to Build?

Kurzgesagt ponders the question of whether space elevators can be built and answers it as only they can. It’s fascinating to learn about the (obvious) benefits of having a space elevator—sending things to space becomes much, much cheaper!—but even if it’ll take forever and a half to build this mythical 22,370-mile structure (which we can’t…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 8

Our Future Space Elevator May Be Built of Diamond

If the notion that humans will one day ascend into orbit on a rope of ultra strong carbon nanofibers sounds a bit out of this world, then you’re going to love the latest dazzling twist: our future space elevators might actually be built of diamond. Graphene may be the hottest substance in materials science right…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 21

Meet the People Who Dream of Building a Space Elevator

In his 1979 novel Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke described an impossibly tall tower that would ferry humans from the Earth’s surface into orbit. Nearly forty years later, space elevators still have the ring of science fiction. But against all odds, a small community of engineers is pushing the idea closer to reality. SKY…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 20

The Unlikely Quest to Build a Tower Tall Enough to Take Astronauts to Space

The space elevator is a glorious science fiction idea that’s never gotten past the concept stage, mostly because it’s impossible to build one right now. Recognizing this, a Canadian space firm is hoping to test the waters with a slightly scaled-down version — a space tower, if you will, that only rises into the stratosphere.…

Tech News Maddie Stone Aug 18

This Huge Engineering Project May Be Our Best Chance At Colonizing Space

Space colonization has reached an impasse, for reasons far more fundamental than a lack of money for the Space Shuttle program. There is simply no way humans can travel easily offworld without using massive amounts of rocket fuel to escape the gravity well — and that’s both expensive and environmentally unsustainable. So how will we…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 15

How Humanity Will Conquer Space Without Rockets

Getting out of Earth’s gravity well is hard. Conventional rockets are expensive, wasteful, and as we’re frequently reminded, very dangerous. Thankfully, there are alternative ways of getting ourselves and all our stuff off this rock. Here’s how we’ll get from Earth to space in the future. Top image: Britain’s Skylon Spaceplane. Image: Reaction Engines Limited…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 30

These Tiny Diamond Nanothreads Could Someday Support a Space Elevator

A team of scientists just strung a tone of the world’s smallest diamonds into superstrong nanothreads. That makes for one impressive (and basically invisible) necklace, but the applications of these nanothreads don’t end there. They could someday help string up an elevator to space—just like in science fiction. A research team lead by John Badding,…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Sep 22

A Love Story About A Cyborg Leaving Her Wife On A Space Elevator Launch

The lyrical short film Auroras takes us into a neon-lit future where space elevators rocket people past the atmosphere, but the story at its heart is a familiar one: that of two lovers separated by circumstance, dreaming of the day they’ll be reunited. Writer and director Niles Heckman partially funded Auroras through Kickstarter, allowing him…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 9

That Time Google Tried To Design A Space Elevator

It may be a while before space elevators become a reality, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start trying. Recently, the head of Google X’s Rapid Evaluation team confirmed that its secretive R&D lab actually tried to design one — but fell short on account of one major technological hurdle. It actually shouldn’t…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 16

Here’s what a Martian space elevator might actually look like

By the turn of the 23rd Century, our founding Martian colonies will be so large and developed we’ll be able to see them from space, providing a spectacular view as visitors ride down on the Tharsis Space Elevator. Titled “The Space Elevator to Mars — Descent At Dusk,” this is a stunning new piece of…

io9 George Dvorsky Feb 12

Why we’ll probably never build a space elevator

As humanity slowly ventures out into the cosmos, we are struggling to overcome the challenge of getting all our stuff into space. Rockets are impractical for the long term as they’re prohibitively expensive, they require a ridiculous amount of fuel, and they’re an environmental menace. The panacea, we’ve been told, is the much heralded space…

io9 George Dvorsky Feb 15

An emotionally-intense short film about scavengers in a space elevator town

When we first saw Stuart Willis’ short film Payload earlier this year, we were blown away. It’s a fully-realized tale of tough frontier life in a space elevator town, which is sort of a cross between Deadwood and Tatooine. I loved the effects, and we’ve got concept art for the incredible space elevator. But more…

Movies Annalee Newitz Oct 1

Crowdfund Space Elevator Research and a mockumentary about America’s T-Rex soldier

The adventures of America’s dinosaur soldier will be revealed at last if the short film’s Kickstarter campaign receives its full funding. A steampunk alphabet book also promises to plant an early love of alternate history, and a new RPG from Monte Cook will inspire dreams of science blended with fantasy. But if you’re looking to…

io9 Lauren Davis Sep 2

Why Japan Probably Won’t Have a Space Elevator by 2050

Japanese construction company Obayashi wants to build an elevator to space — and they want to use carbon nanotubes to get there. The Tokyo-based company plans to use 60,000-miles of the cylindrical carbon structures, anchored to Earth’s surface, to shuttle an elevator to and from a distance about a tenth of the Moon’s distance from…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Feb 24

Carbon nanotubes will lift us to space

The idea of a ‘space elevator’ has been around since the late 1800s. Until now, there wasn’t a material strong enough to build it. Then carbon nanotubes stepped in. It’s official: everyone in the future will be made entirely out of carbon nanotubes. They may be able to cure cancer, they may be able to…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Dec 27

In Arthur Clarke’s Fountains of Paradise, man makes tidy work of the heavens

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then I can’t help but think God must like 1980’s Hugo-winning novel, The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke — even if it’s all about getting in His face. It maybe seems odd, at first, to learn that Clarke ultimately identified himself as an atheist. Given how much…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer Nov 7

LaserMotive’s Robot Is The First Ever To Win NASA’s $900,000 Space Elevator Prize

LaserMotive’s photovoltaic-powered machine became the first in the 3-year history of NASA’s space elevator contest to climb a 2,953-foot-long ribbon, securing a prize of $900,000. However, they fell short of the $2 million grand prize. For that, they would have had to ascend the ribbon with an average speed of 11 mph. They didn’t quite…

Space & Spaceflight Sean Fallon Nov 5

A Robot Named Maryann Could Propel Us Into Space

Only three teams remain, competing for NASA’s latest $2 million prize for advancing space-elevator technology. Good thing one of them, the Kansas City Space Pirates, is using a fast-climbing robot and lasers shot through telescopes. I love this news report about the K.C. Space Pirates, and “Maryann,” their climbing robot, which uses solar panels, and…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 30

Space Elevator

Scientists Found a Possible Deal Breaker in the Quest to Build a Space Elevator

10 Theoretical Megastructures, From Big to Massive

How Would a Real Space Elevator Work and Is It Even Possible to Build?

Our Future Space Elevator May Be Built of Diamond

Meet the People Who Dream of Building a Space Elevator

The Unlikely Quest to Build a Tower Tall Enough to Take Astronauts to Space

This Huge Engineering Project May Be Our Best Chance At Colonizing Space

How Humanity Will Conquer Space Without Rockets

These Tiny Diamond Nanothreads Could Someday Support a Space Elevator

A Love Story About A Cyborg Leaving Her Wife On A Space Elevator Launch

That Time Google Tried To Design A Space Elevator

Here’s what a Martian space elevator might actually look like

Why we’ll probably never build a space elevator

An emotionally-intense short film about scavengers in a space elevator town

Crowdfund Space Elevator Research and a mockumentary about America’s T-Rex soldier

Why Japan Probably Won’t Have a Space Elevator by 2050

Carbon nanotubes will lift us to space

In Arthur Clarke’s Fountains of Paradise, man makes tidy work of the heavens

LaserMotive’s Robot Is The First Ever To Win NASA’s $900,000 Space Elevator Prize

A Robot Named Maryann Could Propel Us Into Space

I Can’t Decide Which ‘Resident Evil Requiem’ Perspective I Liked More

Artemis 2 Day 10: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

I Rewatched the Live-Action ‘Speed Racer’ to Feel Something Again

Microsoft Says You Should Take Copilot Seriously but Not Literally

The Trump Administration Wants Gamers to Step Up and Fill the Air Traffic Controller Shortage

Watch a Comet Get Torn Apart by the Sun and Become a Headless Ghost

Sam Altman’s Home Hit With Molotov Cocktail, 20-Year-Old Man Arrested

‘Tales From the Crypt’ Is Creeping Onto Streaming for the Very First Time

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Let us help find what you are looking for...