  thumbtime=28 | thumb |right |280px |left |name=this_is_the_name. |title=this is the title. |space elevator in motion rotating with earth. viewed from above north pole. a free-flying satellite (green dot) is shown in geostationary orbit slightly behind the cable. a space elevator is a proposed type of space transportation system. its main component is a ribbon-like cable (also called a tether) anchored to the surface and extending into space. it is designed to permit vehicle transport along the cable from a planetary surface, such as the earth's, directly into space or orbit, without the use of large rockets. an earth-based space elevator would consist of a cable with one end attached to the surface near the equator and the other end in space beyond geostationary orbit (35,800&nbsp;km altitude). the competing forces of gravity, which is stronger at the lower end, and the outward/upward centrifugal force, which is stronger at the upper end, would result in the cable being held up, under tension, and stationary over a single position on earth. once deployed, the tether would be ascended repeatedly by mechanical means to orbit, and descended to return to the surface from orbi
Emerging_technologies Exploratory_engineering Hypothetical_technology Megastructures Space_access Space_colonization Space_elevator Spacecraft_propulsion Spaceflight_technologies Vertical_transport_devices