Patent granted to space elevator brings science fiction one step closer to reality

Canada-based Thoth Technology was recently granted U.S. and U.K. patents for a space elevator reaching 12.5 miles into the sky. The ThothX Tower is a proposed freestanding piece of futuristic, pneumatically pressurized architecture, designed to propel astronauts into the stratosphere. Then they can then be launched into space. The tower would also likely be used to generate wind energy, host communications technology and will be open to space tourists.

The goal of the tower is to reduce the inefficiency and cost of rocket flights launched from the ground, which space travel presently relies upon. Brendan Quine, the inventor of the tower, told The Guardian, "Part of the limitation on space travel is the cost of getting to space. The tower could change space travel because professional rockets are very energy intensive and not very environmentally friendly." The proposed space elevator would be 20 times taller than the world's tallest skyscraper in Dubai.

See photos from the Spitzer space telescope: