SPACE ELEVATOR

space elevator is the idea of building a lift connecting the ground to Earth orbit. The first person to consider it was Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who was also the first to set out the equations that govern orbital rocket launches. In 1895 he was inspired by the new Eiffel Tower, pointing out that if such a tower could be built 35,800 kilometres (22,245 miles) tall, you could go to space just by taking the lift up the tower. To appreciate why – and why this distance – we must consider how