1. No
1.1. Counterarguement Ideas
1.1.1. Materials that are strong and light enough for the space elevator have been invented, but the lengths of the materials are not even near the length needed for the space elevator, which needs to be over at least 36,000 km long.
1.1.1.1. The cost to make the tether would be enormous.
1.1.1.2. Where do we get enough supplies to make the material for the tether?
1.1.2. Even if the materials needed for the space elevator were made long enough, how would they be connected from Earth to the counterweight located above 36,000 km in altitude?
1.1.2.1. It's probably impossible to launch the tether upwards towards the counterweight.
1.1.2.2. How can the people who will make the space elevator control the tether's direction if they try lowering it frome the counterweight to the Earth base?
1.1.3. How can scientists guarentee that the tether will not break?
1.1.3.1. What would they be able to do if the tether breaks?
1.1.3.2. It could kill many people by falling from thousands of km high above the ground.
1.1.4. The process of moving up the tether might be very dangerous.
1.1.4.1. Space debris might destroy the climber, or even the tether itself.
1.1.4.2. People's lives may be at risk if they are on the climber.
2. Yes
2.1. Construction
2.1.1. The Tether
2.1.1.1. This is the cable that will connect the anchor to the counterweight.
2.1.1.1.1. The materials needed for the tether have already been invented, all we need to do now is make it longer.
2.1.1.1.2. Scientists have calculated that the farther the tether goes from the Earth, the less gravity there will be.
2.1.2. The Climber
2.1.2.1. The climber (the thing that will go up and down along the tether) will be made to be safe in case there are problems during the trip.
2.1.2.1.1. Falling down to Earth
2.1.2.1.2. Going into orbit around the Earth or if the climber stops midway.
2.1.3. The Counterweight
2.1.3.1. It will be sent to the height needed for a geostationary orbit, where it would be right above the anchor down on Earth and move at the same speed as Earth to hold the tether 36,000 km away from Earth.
2.1.3.1.1. When over 36,000 km (distance required for geostationary orbit) from Earth, the counterweight will be going around the Earth at the same speed as the Earth rotates.
2.1.4. The Anchor
2.1.4.1. This is the structure that will connect the tether with the Earth.
2.1.4.1.1. The anchor probably will not be the base on Earth for supplies and people to be trasported from.
2.1.4.1.2. It will only be a mechanism that would hold the tether in place well and be able to adjust the tether's length.
2.2. Benefits to Daily Life
2.2.1. People who have enough money may be able to see what the their home planet looks like as a whole.
2.2.1.1. It would be a ride and view they would never forget.
2.2.1.2. Might think about trying to save the planet or help solve the planet's problems developing from human activity.
2.2.2. Several tethers can be contructed and connected to different parts of the world to make traveling up to the space station (counterweight) easier.
2.2.2.1. Might be easier to transport people and supplies to different parts of the world.
2.2.2.2. How will the counterweight stay right above the equator in order to stay on track?
2.2.2.2.1. As long as there is a tether extending to both hemispheres with the same distance from the equator, the counterweight will stay on track.
2.3. Benefits to Space Exploration
2.3.1. The space elevator will be able to reduce the cost of trasporting one kilogram into space frome $20,000 to $200.
2.3.1.1. This means by transpoting only one million tons of supplies, the cost of transporting with the space elevator will be lower than the cost of transpoting with a rocket of space shuttle.
2.3.1.2. The supplies that wieghs up to one million pounds is enough to build two international space stations.
2.3.1.2.1. This would make space exploration more convinient.
2.3.2. The space elevator's counterweight would be likely to connect to a spacestation (or be the space station).
2.3.2.1. This would be quite an improvement in space exploration.
2.3.2.1.1. Spacecraft would start missions from the space station instead of on Earth.
2.3.2.2. It would make building another or several more space stations easier.
2.3.2.2.1. Supplies and materials would be transported from the space elevator station to the one being in construction.