>>10817686it's like a space elevator but instead of hanging down from Geostationary with a counterweight out beyond that, it's a bit of string in low orbit that's spinning
the rate it's spinning is such that as the end moves back along the ground track it is moving significantly slower than orbital velocity
you grab the hook as it does this, and whoosh off you go, drawing the energy to bring you up to orbital velocity from the momentum of the tether and its counterweight
it's probably the most realistic of the stupid sci-fi orbital ideas, and can also be used to decelerate payloads from orbit to the surface
if you're very careful about it, you could even have one grab something off of the surface of an airless body (luna's gravity is too uneven for that, I think)
it's stupid and I love it
