QED. Your first sentence shows no consideration at all of the effect of material advances on launch vehicle safety. Your use of the phrase "tremendous accelerat

QED. Your first sentence shows no consideration at all of the effect of material advances on launch vehicle safety. Your use of the phrase "tremendous accelerations" shows no understanding of the accelerations actually produced even by current launch vehicles. Also, you don't mention why this is, or even ever has been, a limiting factor in designing a payload, nor the degree to which it impacts payload design. Noting that 50 or 90 is greater than 12 doesn't change the fact that we're in an entirely different design space from the 2%-mass-fraction vehicle. Like I said, space elevators are a fun little toy gedanken for people who just want to think about The Amazing Future. If this is the best the Devil's Advocate can do, the Saints are going to be just fine.