Right. There wouldn't be just one space cable. They would be built everyplace around the equator where a suitable anchor could be located --an irregular spider's web of strands with a radius 10 times that of earth itself.
Imagine the potential conflict with commsats in geosynch orbit.
They would be built everyplace around the equator where a suitable anchor could be located --an irregular spider's web of strands with a radius 10 times that of earth itself.A veritable cosmic Tinker Toy.
GEO objects aren't the problem. They don't move wrt the upper end of the elevator, which is just another GEO object as far as they're concerned. But what about LEO objects (and LEO junk)? The ISS crosses the equator all the time. When it happens to cross the equator exactly where the space elevator is ... no more elevator, no more ISS, just junk and dead astronauts.
Comsats have a life expectancy of maybe 10 years. The hub of a space elevator would resemble "Cloud City" from Star Wars -- it could be big enough to house a broadcasting empire.
My first thought was: "What about terrorists?" But with a dozen or so of these things, the effect of losing one would be affordable with normal underwriting.
As for safety, the hub would be in orbit. There would be a tethered weight extending beyond orbital altitude, exerting a constant pull. This would have to disengage quickly in an emergency -- such as loss of the ground connection.