12-Mile-High Tower May Launch Spacecraft Horizontally

Thoth Technology last month won patents in the U.S. and UK for a space elevator -- a 12-mile-high tower that could herald a new era of space transportation. If all goes as planned, the freestanding ThothX Tower will be the tallest structure in the world by far. Dubhai's Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest building, is a mere half mile in height. Thoth plans to build a rigid inflatable structure around an elevator that will be actively guided through its pneumatically pressurized interior.

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