I believe lifting cargo outside orbit is not the greatest strength of an orbital elevator, instead it most useful feature would be on gathering sun rays which h

I believe lifting cargo outside orbit is not the greatest strength of an orbital elevator, instead it most useful feature would be on gathering sun rays which have not been diminished by the atmosphere. But there are many challenges to achieve that: http://io9.com/5984371/why-well-probably-never-build-a-space-elevator http://io9.com/5984371/why-well-probably-never-build-a-space...