Space elevator

A space elevator, also known as an orbital tether, is a megastructure which is used to ferry both personnel and cargo into space without using spacecraft.
== Description ==
Space elevators mainly consist of a tether, an extremely resilient carbon nanofiber cable that spans from the surface to a point beyond geosynchronous orbit. As the planet rotates, the inertia at the end of the tether counteracts gravity and keeps the tether taut. Vehicles can then climb the tether and escape the planet's gravity without the use of rocket motors. The engineering of such a structure requires an extremely light and extremely strong material. Such a structure permits delivery of great quantities of cargo and people to orbit, and at costs only a fraction of those associated with conventional means with very little to no danger.
== Known space elevators ==
=== United Nations Space Command ===
Space elevators are a common construction by the UNSC, both on Earth and her colonies. While Earth has six space elevators, many planets within the Outer Colonies have more since there is a heavy human reliance on the production and shipment of agricultural and mineral goods from remote worlds. The farming colony of Harvest, for example, had seven elevators linked to the orbital station Tiara, while some mineral-rich worlds, such as Reach, had as many as nine. During the events of the Great War, many of these elevators were damaged, some seriously, during combat engagements. Of Earth's six elevators, only four remained intact after the end of the Great War.
==== Arcadia ====
* Three space elevators
==== Cascade ====
* Nova Austin Station
==== Circinius IV ====
* A single space elevator at Corbulo Academy of Military Science
==== Earth ====
* Aranuka Space Tether
* Centennial Orbital Elevator
* Mombasa Tether
* Quito Space Tether
* Borneo Space Tether
* One other unidentified space elevator
* An elevator near Zanzibar Island (post-war)
* Luna has at least one elevator
==== Harvest ====
* 7 space elevators connected to orbital station Tiara
==== Mars ====
* Babylon Station
==== Meridian ====
* Pinnacle Station
==== Reach ====
* A total of nine space elevators.
* The Delphi Triple-Strand Network was three of the nine tethers clustered in a single area near New Alexandria
==== Vodin ====
* At least one elevator is known to have existed on Vodin prior to 2532
==== Atlas ====
* Jericho Space Elevator