On Sun, Aug 27, 2017 at 09:18:56PM -0700, Amber Witherspoon wrote:
> Beanstalks are used in the really rich areas, where the flow of
> traffic requires such an investment.

As a side discussion, I can't actually think of any advantages of a
beanstalk given Traveller technology.

In the real world, beanstalks are primarily proposed as a way to avoid
the diseconomies of the exponential rocket equation as applied to
chemical rocket propulsion.  Despite being extremely expensive,
fragile, disrupting all non-synchronous orbits, and inconvenient in a
great many other ways, it may be worth the problems (if we can ever
build one).

Traveller already has two ways to completely avoid the rocket
equation's consequences for orbital travel: contragrav, and thruster
plates.  It also has other ways to mitigate the cost without those
technologies.

I'm not saying that they would never be built.  However, in a
Traveller universe it would be along the lines of a vanity project
than providing serious practical benefits.  Perhaps a real-world
analog would be something like building a railway line from San
Francisco to Tokyo.  It could be done, and provide alternative
transport to sea or air between the locations, but it's not going to
be any cheaper or faster.

- Tim