[snovv_crash]

With a space elevator, don't you need a mass some distance above geosync to hold the weight of the cable and the payload as it ascends?

[yellowapple]

I think the counterbalance is more to make sure that the center of gravity is actually the thing in geostationary orbit.

[philwelch]

Yeah, it's not the type of thing you can iterate on and get usable results for without the whole thing. It's not like you can build a tiny space elevator and use it to bomb London, for example.