P1_6 Don't Fire Rockets in Great Glass Elevators

Abstract

In Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Willy Wonka's Great Glass Elevator, filled with 6 passengers and a bed, launches from Charlie Bucket's house in England and docks to the International Space Station. In this paper the mass of hydrogen fuel required to launch the elevator is calculated to be 37,387 kg and the feasibility of a glass elevator being launched into space is discussed.