Why Space Elevators? -- Lowest and Competitive Costs

Barry and Alfaro stated that Space Elevators would enable: "Transforming economics towards an infrastructure with access to more valuable, lucrative, stable, and reliable investments."[i]? This transformation results from the economic impacts of permanent space access infrastructures. From the beginning of this century, the Space Elevator Community has played the rocket game – trying to show that it will be the least expensive? transportation infrastructure. They CAN “beat” rocket projects with low costs at so many levels; but the discussion needs to be raised by actually explaining that Space Elevators reach across economic growth arenas of enterprises across the solar system. It also “beats” the cost [impact] to the atmosphere in pollution and depositing extra debris in LEO.?

?Studies show that the cost comparison between permanent infrastructures (placing a bridge across a river) and individual events (ferries across rivers) relates to the impact to the community involved with massive infusion of businesses growing rapidly.? Permanent infrastructures cost less per tonne than single event approaches, especially when rockets consume 80% of their mass in propellent, with less than 2% of initial mass to their GEO destination (0.5 % to surface of Moon or Mars) while Space Elevators deliver 70% to their destination (with the other 30% in totally reusable tether climbers).? In addition, if we look at history, we see that along the paths followed and roads/rail lines built, settlements and businesses grew rapidly becoming cities and states.? As we see this historic action of building transportation avenues as an approach to creating and sustaining communities, we should look at space with a parallel view.? When we establish permanent space access transportation infrastructures, the natural assumption is that massive growth will occur along the way with initial businesses, then habitats, and then settlements.?

[i] Barry, K., E.P. Alfaro, “Changing the Economic Paradigm for Building a Space Elevator,” Acta Astronautica, 200 #1, Aug. 2022.?