I had the same thought. Makani had an interesting idea but the reliability wasn't there -- even if they had all of the problems worked out, the system having on

I had the same thought. Makani had an interesting idea but the reliability wasn't there -- even if they had all of the problems worked out, the system having only one tether and such a fragile glider would have been inherently unreliable. That said, it might be easier in space because there's less atmosphere to worry about (not nothing though, debris and micrometeoroids would probably pose a problem in the long run)