Quote:
Originally Posted by T@T
The speed doesn't bother me as much as why the need to build it 22.000 miles long into space, they could go 70 miles and have the same effect of weightlessness or a couple of hundred miles and get a nice view of the earth.
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Because 70 miles up the orbit isn't geosynchronous, so the station portion of the tether would orbit away minutes after you place it and break the tether.
Geostationary orbit is 22,236 miles up, if you put the station there it'll (mostly) stay where you put it in relation to a point on the earth's surface, minimizing the tension on the cable due to the station.