Mombasa Tether: Difference between revisions

The '''New Mombasa Orbital Elevator''', commonly known as the '''Mombasa Tether''',<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Palace Hotel (short story)|Palace Hotel]]", ''pages 352 and 366''</ref><ref>[http://www.bungie.net/projects/odst/guide.aspx '''Bungie.net''': ''Halo 3: ODST Field Guide - New Mombasa'']</ref> was a [[Space Elevator]] located at the heart of the [[East African Protectorate]] city of [[New Mombasa]] on [[Earth]]. It was used for lifting heavy ordnance from the surrounding port facilities into a station in [[geosynchronous orbit]] at the top of the elevator structure, a transport method much cheaper and more efficient than booster rockets filled with expensive fuel. The company in charge of the management of the space elevator was called [[New Mombasa Uplift]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'''</ref>

Under an hour later on the same day, the damage from the Slipspace rupture was too much for the support structure to handle. It exploded at multiple points, and the tether snapped at some two kilometers above the surface. The upper portion of the tether was instantly pulled upward by its orbital counterweight, now severed from the anchor point. The lower section collapsed, leaving only a small portion of the lower support structure intact, even though heavily damaged. Several pieces of debris crashed around the city and the surrounding area, while more fallout presumably caused considerable damage to buildings near the tether.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Uplift Reserve (level)|Uplift Reserve]]''</ref>

A large portion of the tower's debris was left scattered around Earth's surface, while most of the tether was pulled into space, likely ending up in an unstable orbit around Earth.<ref name="spaceflight">[http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/a-hoist-to-the-heavens '''IEEE Spectrum''': ''A Hoist to the Heavens'']</ref> While the upper portion of the tower was slowly pulled up into space, debris such as support rings and cables rained down to the surface far as the town of [[Voi]] and its surrounding regions, leaving large areas littered with debris and damaging infrastructure, such as the [[Tsavo Highway (Location)|Tsavo Highway]]. After the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]] on March, [[2553]], some debris from the elevator still remained in the area near Voi.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref>