Super-strong carbon nanotubes may make space elevators feasible. NASA’s nanotube teams at the Johnson Space Center in Houston foresee the stuff playing a critical role in nearly every aspect of a ship – from speeding electronics to delivering drugs inside astronauts. But some of the first applications of the new technology of synthesizing carbon nanotubes may be as prosaic as building stronger and lighter wall panels for manned spacecraft and casings for automated probes.
More about nanotube research here