Space elevators

Utility

Space elevators drastically reduce the cost of transporting people and goods between planets.

Manufacturing

Space elevator construction typically begins with a space station as the anchor and then the tethers are extended downward to meet up with a tower at the base of the elevator on the planet's surface.

Social Impact

Space elevators have made it much more economical for people to visit and settle other planets. It has also made the shipment of goods from one planet to another affordable.

Access & Availability

The anchor of a space elevator must be placed in geosynchronous orbit, meaning that only planets and moons within specific constraints are capable of constructing them. Fortunately, most inhabited planets are capable of constructing and maintain space elevators, but those that rotate very slowly or rapidly or have other limiting orbital constraints rely on less efficient methods to transport goods and people between the surface and orbit.

Complexity

The concept of a space elevator is simple in theory, but in practice constructing one requires highly processed carbonic.

Discovery

Space elevators have been conjectured since the beginning of humanity's exploration into space. The problem standing in the way of actually constructing one was the lack of a material strong enough to withstand the demanding forces exterted on the elevator cable. The first space elevator was constructed around Earth's moon Luna as the forces there were not as demanding as those on Earth. With the invention of carbonic, the construction of the first space elevator on a planetary surface was soon completed.