The tether needs to be at least 100 times stronger than steel (I know this lacks precision in defining which characteristics- sorry) and apparently the carbon nanotube weave can or will soon be able to do that, according to the article.
One issue that hasn’t been pointed out, since nobody details their SWAGs (Rematog’s term Silly Wild Asked Guess), is the cost of the tether itself and the various overhead involved in replacing it on a regular basis. I’m guessing that the real budget-busters are freight aboard the chemical rocket required to loft the first tether, along with the structures at both ends and the incremental research programs. Replacing the tether every year or few might turn out to be cheap insurance.
