Editing Clarke Orbital Assembly Ladder (section)

== Overview ==
The Clarke Orbital Assembly Ladder was a tethered climber system rather than a true continuous space elevator. Its lower tether descended from the LEO staging node at approximately 400 km altitude to the equatorial ground anchor station in the Columbia Basin region; the upper tether extended from the staging node outward to the geostationary transfer hub at roughly 35,800 km. Climber units gripped the lower tether using motorised clamp drives powered by a microwave rectenna array on the ground, supplemented by photovoltaic panels mounted on each climber chassis.

Mass throughput at inauguration stood at approximately 1,800 tonnes per 72-hour cycle. After Phase Two expansion in 2092 CE, cycle capacity reached 4,200 tonnes — sufficient to sustain several simultaneous habitat construction programmes in low and medium Earth orbit. The tether itself was fabricated from a layered carbon-composite material developed specifically for the project, rated to withstand the thermal cycling and micrometeorite abrasion expected over a thirty-year service life.