Editing Space elevator (section)

===Safety issues and construction challenges===
{{Main|Space elevator safety}}
For early systems, transit times from the surface to the level of geosynchronous orbit would be about five days. On these early systems, the time spent moving through the [[Van Allen radiation belts]] would be enough that passengers would need to be protected from radiation by shielding, which would add mass to the climber and decrease payload.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10520 |title=Space elevators: 'First floor, deadly radiation!' |access-date=2 January 2010 |date=13 November 2006|work=New Scientist |publisher=Reed Business Information Ltd.}}</ref>

A space elevator would present a navigational hazard, both to aircraft and spacecraft. Aircraft could be diverted by [[air-traffic control]] restrictions. All objects in stable orbits that have [[perigee]] below the maximum altitude of the cable that are not synchronous with the cable would impact the cable eventually, unless avoiding action is taken. One potential solution proposed by Edwards is to use a movable anchor (a sea anchor) to allow the tether to "dodge" any space debris large enough to track.<ref name="Edwards" />

Impacts by space objects such as meteoroids, micrometeorites and orbiting man-made debris pose another design constraint on the cable. A cable would need to be designed to maneuver out of the way of debris, or absorb impacts of small debris without breaking.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}