Space elevator

Imagine a 'Space Elevator' Competition where a laser-powered robot climbs into the desert sky using space elevator technology. Sound too far fetched? Not really, it sounds like an idea out of a science fiction novel, but Thoth Technology has been granted a patent for an inflatable, pneumatically pressured tower stretching 12.5 miles high. The top of the so-called space elevator would serve as a liftoff point to space, potentially saving more than 30 percent of the fuel of a conventional rocket, according to the company.