We could move massive payloads through space using a giant network of swinging 'tethers' that act like a cosmic conveyor belt.
This stable architecture uses rotating cables and elliptical nodes to hand off cargo from one orbit to another without using any rocket fuel. It proposes a way to make space travel cheap and repeatable by treating the solar system like a massive elevator system.
Space-Clock Elevator: Multi-Stage Orbital Transport via Rotating Tethers and Elliptical Nodes
arXiv · 2604.11221
Rotating space tethers have long been proposed as momentum-exchange devices capable of transporting payloads between orbital regimes without continuous propellant expenditure, offering a potential alternative to conventional propulsion for transfers from low Earth orbit to higher orbits. In this work, we numerically investigate a system of multiple rotating tethers distributed across different orbital radii and coupled through intermediate transfer platforms (elliptical nodes) moving along Keple