Japanese construction firm Obayashi is planning to construct an elevator by 2050, which can reach up to 96,000km into space.

The company said that the project is feasible with advancements in the field of carbon nanotechnology.

If successful, the proposed elevator is expected to transform space travel, and use robotic cars equipped with magnetic linear motors to ferry cargo and humans to a new space station.

"The tensile strength is almost a hundred times stronger than steel cable, so it’s possible."

Obayashi R&D manager Yoji Ishikawa was quoted by the ABC News as saying: "The tensile strength is almost a hundred times stronger than steel cable, so it’s possible.

"Right now we can’t make the cable long enough. We can only make 3cm-long nanotubes but we need much more, we think by 2030 we’ll be able to do it."

Japanese universities have been working to tackle problems associated with the elevator.

A team at Kanagawa University has been working on ascend and brake concept of robotic cars at varying altitudes.

Obayashi stated the project is expected lower cargo costs to space to around $200 per kilogram, compared with approximately $22,000 using a space shuttle.

The elevator may also enable launching small rockets from stations, eliminating the need for huge amounts of fuel, as well as tackling power problems by delivering solar power.

Ishikawa said: "I don’t think one company can make it, we’ll need an international organisation to make this big project."

Defence Technology