[ahaferburg]

Does the rocket somehow counter the spin of the tether? If it's rigidly attached to the tether, I don't understand how it would stop spinning after being released. The rocket itself would spin very quickly, and due to conservation of angular momentum it would keep spinning upon release. Am I missing something?

Or do they somehow counter the spinning of the tether, so that the rocket's orientation remains static? If there's another bearing at the attachment point, I don't see how just the outer bearing would withstand the friction at 10000g.