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UNSC Orbital Elevator - Anchor component

The Orbital Elevator, also called a space elevator or the tether, is a colossal structure utilized on all major human colonies prior to the Human-Covenant war. It can transport people and goods from planet-side to high orbit (and vice versa). This is the Earth-side part and typically the first part constructed.

Once a human colony has become productive and begins to export massive amounts of goods off-world, Orbital Elevators are installed. With tendril rails miles and miles long, reaching far out of the atmosphere and out of the major gravitational pull of the planet, the scale of the elevator is an impressive feat of engineering. Harvest had seven such elevators to export food, which served as vital means for evacuating the planet when the Covenant attacked. However, the elevators are highly vulnerable to attack and, if sufficiently damaged, will crash down and cause wide-scale damage.

- - - Earthside Terminal: Roomy center of ground-side operations. Lots of storage and small meeting rooms allowing for commerce and easy movement of goods, as well as being able to shelter a large number of people in an evacuation. Has heavy security doors and shutters on the windows.

The elevator is actually quite smooth and safe, using light armor rails and 4 non-friction wheels with hydrogen thrusters to move the platform. The car can be locked down on Earthside and in Orbit, takes about 2 minutes to make a full trip, and can seat over a dozen people. This model is based on the New Mombasa elevator seen in Halo 3: ODST.