This week’s Weekend Walkabout might be better named “Weekend Flyabout”—one of our stops involves flying between the northern and southern hemispheres via a proposed structure that’s almost a space elevator. And at the center of it all? Dubai – a place much in the news lately. Let’s get started!
Our first stop is in Japan for the International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo’25), being held in Sendai from June 23–25. This is a new platform for scientists and industry experts to discuss advancements in space robotics, including in-orbit servicing, lunar/Mars exploration, and satellite operations. It will feature speakers from academia and industry, fostering collaboration on robotics for space applications. While not explicitly focused on space elevators, the conference’s emphasis on robotic manipulation, autonomous navigation, and lightweight materials closely aligns with climber technology. Japan’s history with space elevator research, via the Japan Space Elevator Association (JSEA), and their ongoing climber competitions makes this conference especially relevant – a great opportunity for some cross-fertilization here.
Our second stop is in the UK, where, during the blog’s hiatus, Jordan William Hughes won a €10,000 prize for his design of the Ascensio Space Elevator. As noted in the BBC report, his futuristic concept earned the prize for space architecture and innovation from the Jacques Rougerie Foundation in Paris. I’m always a little jealous of these gorgeous designs—I’m one of those people who struggles to draw a straight line even with a ruler.
And for our last stop: I’ve written before about how a partnership between India and the UAE—especially Dubai—feels like a natural fit for constructing a space elevator. The logic behind such a collaboration is compelling.
But then what? Once they’ve built a space elevator, what’s next? “Ho hum, space elevators are so 2050. What else you got?”
How about this: the Analemma Tower.
This is a proposed concept for a skyscraper suspended from a cable tethered to an asteroid in an eccentric geosynchronous orbit. According to the designers:
“Analemma can be placed in an eccentric geosynchronous orbit which would allow it to travel between the northern and southern hemispheres on a daily loop. The ground trace for this pendulum tower would be a figure eight, where the tower would move at its slowest speed at the top and bottom of the figure eight allowing the possibility for the tower’s occupants to interface with the planet’s surface at these points. The proposed orbit is calibrated so the slowest part of the towers trajectory occurs over New York City.”
The architects, Clouds AO, suggest constructing the tower in Dubai—fitting, since the city has a reputation for pushing the limits of tall building construction. Fun fact: someone at the top of the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building, also in Dubai) sees daylight for 2–3 minutes longer than someone on the ground. For the Analemma Tower? Try 45 extra minutes of daylight.
The visuals on the Analemma Tower website are stunning—serious eye candy. You’ll find detailed depictions of the orbit, environmental interactions, and the 20,000+ meter structure itself. It’s well worth a visit.
Building something like this? Beyond cool.
And finally, for our Translation Project: Since the languages of this week’s stops already have translations, let’s detour to an unexpected Weekend Walkabout destination—Ancient Rome. Naturally, the concept of a space elevator was unknown to the Romans, so no such phrase existed in classical Latin. But after a bit of research, I found that the idea could be expressed in several different ways, depending on how one chooses to interpret or adapt the words. In the end, I settled on the elegant and succinct Elevātor spatialis—a fitting fusion of ancient structure and modern imagination.
And that’s a wrap for this week!