Skyhook: The Orbit-Sling That Could Change Spaceflight

We unpack the skyhook—an orbiting momentum-exchange tether that could grab a payload at the edge of the atmosphere and fling it into orbit. Tracing ideas from Isaacs and Moravec to NASA tests (TSS-1R, YOES-2) and the Hastol study, we discuss how existing materials might suffice, the massive scale and engineering challenges, and the threat of atomic oxygen erosion. We also imagine the implications: what a future with routine, low-cost access to LEO would mean for satellites, space resources, and humanity's place in space.

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