NationStates Jolt Archive

SkyCity Scientific Journal Issue 7445 - January, NRY-347

As is quite apparent to many Ninjaons just looking out their windows, the P4lladian Institution for Apathy and Irrelevancy, with the aid of the res of the the region of Ninjao and the Libertine Empire of Desudoragon, has completed Low Orbital Transport 01, a space elevator. Attached to a hub station in low Earth orbit, and an asteroid counterweight further out, the elevator is a safe, economical way of transporting crews, supplies and equipment into orbit. The hub station is currently under further construction to add a tubular orbital colony.

The LOT-01, accodring to PIAI representative Jiro Toryama, "is a 10-foot thick cable made out of nanotubes, attached to an electromagnet strip. "Cable cars" climb up the cable using a maglev-like technology. Locking Mechanisms are in place every 20 feet to prevent the vehicle from slipping in the event of a (very unlikely) power loss. It costs about $200 per kilogram to transport things into orbit, much, much less than with conventional rockets. It's also much safter, as there is virtually no danger of violent explosions or plummeting to earth."

Being a civil venture, the PIAI says, it will be availible to any foreign government or corporation that wishes to use it for nonmilitary uses. The Ninjaon region government has, however, stated that it has seized exclusive military rights to the elevator.

http://www.spacedaily.com/images/space-elevator-bg.jpg

*opens champagne*

Congratulations to P4lladia and the rest of the Ninjao region for their accomplishment. Myself and the other members of the Pacific Islands look forward to using the LOT-01 to transport necessary resources to our orbital colony.

I was wondering if it would be possible for the Desudoragon military to use the LOT-01 as well. Considering the nature of the Pacific Islands/Ninjao alliance, we hope such an ability could be acquired. Your officials would have the right to check all military shipments as there are no secrets we wish to hide from you.

Libertine Empire of Desudoragon

The nation of Eniqcir must make known its feelings on the matter. It is our opinion that the use of such an over-built cable presents an unnacceptable risk to the planet, and should be destroyed and replaced with a more reasonable construction as soon as possible.

The PIAI is fully aware of our close alliance, and agrees to allow your military usage of the transport, as long as it can inspect the payloads thouroughly (as to appease the Director). We trust you very much, but it's against policy to allow any payloads on the transport without inspection. We very much look forward to your business! We are already planning on running shuttles between our stations, and will automatically transport whatever you send up to you.

Eniqcir, your concerns are noted, yet fully unfounded. The cable and it's supporting orbital structures have little to no effect on the planet's gravity, nor does it pollute. Your ludditism is what impedes technological progress in this world, keep it to yourselves. As an aside, dismantling it would be far more hazardous than keeping it in place, as it's very, very large and we have nowhere to put it.

ooc:- Having sucessfully built one of these before our move off planet I have a few questions:-
Where is it located?
What are the safty features of said space elevator?
wheres the thread telling us that you are building it
why should you have it so easily when, during the design stage I was threaten with war if I didn't stop. (I avoided it but I won't say how).

ooc:- Having sucessfully built one of these before our move off planet I have a few questions:-
Where is it located?
What are the safty features of said space elevator?
wheres the thread telling us that you are building it
why should you have it so easily when, during the design stage I was threaten with war if I didn't stop. (I avoided it but I won't say how).

OOC: Ooh, that damn Wazzu and his "concern for the Earth."

Listen to Slagkattunger, P4lladia. He's a good source.

Luditism? You accuse us of Luditism? It sems you have a seriously underfunded intelligence agency. We ourselves employ several space elevators, and that is only the least of our technological acheivements. It is not pollution or gravity that is the problem- it is the chance that the cable could fall. Such an event would mean the destruction of all Earthly life, something we are obviously rather laith to have happen.

ooc:- Having sucessfully built one of these before our move off planet I have a few questions:-
Where is it located?
What are the safty features of said space elevator?
wheres the thread telling us that you are building it
why should you have it so easily when, during the design stage I was threaten with war if I didn't stop. (I avoided it but I won't say how).


The base is located on Nova Island, a glorified sandbar off the west coast of Ninjao (http://www.noyuo.com/ninjao/polmap.jpg).
Safety, or security? As I mentioned earlier, there are locking mechanisms running up the length of the cable to prevent the vehicle from falling down the cable, and we perform thorough examinations on all payloads. The thing is made out of carbon nanotubing, which, as you know, is the single strongest construction material known to mankind. It is quite unlikely that a normal chemical missile or non-huge aircraft could cause irrepairable damage to the structure.As for security, there are the normal SAM sites near the base, and a small airbase on Nova Island that is constantly on call. Ninjao is decidedly isolationist, and has never had problems with terrorism in the past. We appreciate your concerns, but we are quite capable of defending it. You are more than welcome to help us, though!
Right here. (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=110181&highlight=) And it's been on our regional website (http://www.noyuo.com/ninjao) for quite some time.
I'm really very sorry you had trouble building yours, nobody seemed to care (or even notice) that we were building one.

And Eniqcir, please tell me why it's ok, and why you're not an "unacceptable risk" that you have "several" cable transports, and we only have one.

Ours aren't ten feet thick. If a properly constructed elevator were to malfunction, the worst that could happen is that a bird might choke on a scrap of fullerene ribbon fluttering in the wind. If anything went wrong with your elevator, on the other hand, it would be wrapped around the Earth's equator several times, impacting with the force of a planetary-scale whip crack, carving a several kilometers deep trench around the globe, causing several minor tsunamis, and throwing so much dust into the atmosphere to black the sun for several months, if not years, such that everything not killed in the initial impact would likely die of the ensuing "nuclear-winter" effect.

In addition, a properly constructed elevator can be shifted a few kilometers out of the way to dodge debris and spacecraft. Yours, however, poses an unnacceptable risk to orbital traffic, similar to placing a jersey barrier smack in the middle of a four-lane highway.

Ours aren't ten feet thick. If a properly constructed elevator were to malfunction, the worst that could happen is that a bird might choke on a scrap of fullerene ribbon fluttering in the wind. If anything went wrong with your elevator, on the other hand, it would be wrapped around the Earth's equator several times, impacting with the force of a planetary-scale whip crack, carving a several kilometers deep trench around the globe, causing several minor tsunamis, and throwing so much dust into the atmosphere to black the sun for several months, if not years, such that everything not killed in the initial impact would likely die of the ensuing "nuclear-winter" effect.

In addition, a properly constructed elevator can be shifted a few kilometers out of the way to dodge debris and spacecraft. Yours, however, poses an unnacceptable risk to orbital traffic, similar to placing a jersey barrier smack in the middle of a four-lane highway.

Please tell me you are kidding. A 10 foot wide building is the equivalent of putting a barrier in the middle of a highway? Are you kidding me? Do you KNOW how big the planet is? The average human is more than half the width of the structure tall. Does this mean that humans should be abolished from the planet because we are blocking traffic?

"It would be wrapped around Earth..." Yeah, except for the fact that the structure isnt even the length of the circumference of Earth. Not to mention the fact that it WOULDN'T wrap around the Earth even if it was long enough. *NOTE* Even if it were to wrap around the Earth, it wouldn't wrap around the EQUATOR as you said, because of the tilt of Earth on its axis.

As for the whole "whip crack" theory, that is completely false. Have you heard of terminal velocity? It is the maximum velocity that a falling object can accomplish (humans have a terminal velocity of around 120mph, IIRC). The building would fall, and there would most likely be quite a mess at the base point, and surrounding areas. If the building were to lose stability and begin to crumple, there are explosives mounted half way which dissemble the latter half and the counterweight and send it flying out of orbit. This would leave only the first half to fall to Earth. Also, I forgot to mention that nanotubing is not very dense..

Finally, please enlighten me how a very thin, extremely long cable can manage to accomplish the same tasks that our space elevator can. It seems to me that a tiny cable like that would be no better than a rocket. Ok, last finally: How is it possible for your space elevator to be so lissomic when it has to endure such incredibly force? That really doesn't seem plausible.

The base is located on Nova Island, a glorified sandbar off the west coast of Ninjao (http://www.noyuo.com/ninjao/polmap.jpg).


ooc:- Is this near the equator? Bcause if its not then the Space Elevator won't work.

Edit:- Heres a link to my thread on my space eleveator, the first post has a error (the length of the cable is wrong) that is corrected on the 5th page I suggest look at the whole thing.

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82547

Please tell me you are kidding. A 10 foot wide building is the equivalent of putting a barrier in the middle of a highway? Are you kidding me? Do you KNOW how big the planet is? The average human is more than half the width of the structure tall. Does this mean that humans should be abolished from the planet because we are blocking traffic?
The average human isn't moving at several hundred miles per hour relative to the rest of the objects at its altitude. Anything on an equitorial orbit (which is the vast majority of everything in orbit) will eventually come close to that elevator, if not smack into it outright, save only those things in geosynch. Even using the most optimistic estimates, an impact with a satelite would not be good.

"It would be wrapped around Earth..." Yeah, except for the fact that the structure isnt even the length of the circumference of Earth. Not to mention the fact that it WOULDN'T wrap around the Earth even if it was long enough. *NOTE* Even if it were to wrap around the Earth, it wouldn't wrap around the EQUATOR as you said. First off, we are not on the equator. Secondly, even if we were on the equator, it would not follow it because of the tilt of Earth on its axis.
If that is true, you don't have an elevator. The distance to geosynch is significantly larger than the circumference of the Earth, and if you're not on the equator, an elevator is absolutely impossible.

As for the whole "whip crack" theory, that is completely false. Have you heard of terminal velocity? It is the maximum velocity that a falling object can accomplish (humans have a terminal velocity of around 120mph, IIRC).
It is the maximum velocity that an object can reach if it starts with zero velocity and has no external acceleration. Neither of those conditions are true for a falling elevator cable.

Finally, please enlighten me how a very thin, extremely long cable can manage to accomplish the same tasks that our space elevator can. It seems to me that a tiny cable like that would be no better than a rocket. Ok, last finally: How is it possible for your space elevator to be so lissomic when it has to endure such incredibly force? That really doesn't seem plausible.
As you should know, nanotubes are strong. A ribbon only a few milimeters thick can support several tonnes of cargo. And the ribbon only has to move a klik or two in any direction. When you consider the huge distances involved, even the miniscule amount of elasticity nanotubes have is greatly multiplied. Also, using a mesh structure instead of parallel tubules increases elasticity. Even if elasticity was zero, though, 1 kilometer amounts to less than a second of arc, and thus a negligible increase in distance that the cable has to cover.

Eniqcir, you do realize that the main force that any cable would experience is its own mass? The LOT-01 will remain regardless of your opinion.

Congratulations on your accomplishment. The Armed Republic of Lexwolf would like to inquire in the area of commercial use of the elevator. But it would also like to caution P4lladia against the use of militaristic high orbit nuclear testing.

I assure you that P4lladia will not be conducting any high orbital nuclear testing due to the elevator's proximity to the Pacific Islands' orbital space colony.

Eniqcir, you do realize that the main force that any cable would experience is its own mass?
Yup, and that presents yet another disadvantage of having such a huge cable.

Congratuations. Now we better add it to things in space not to crash into.

Eniqcir, you do realize that the main force that any cable would experience is its own mass?
Yup, and that presents yet another disadvantage of having such a huge cable.
Both of our cables would experience similar problems then. The larger, the stronger, but also the more mass.

ooc:- Is this near the equator? Bcause if its not then the Space Elevator won't work.

Edit:- Heres a link to my thread on my space eleveator, the first post has a error (the length of the cable is wrong) that is corrected on the 5th page I suggest look at the whole thing.

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82547

Why, of course it is. The map I linked is a little weird, the rainforest area (where Shertaeth and Sagroi are) is in the south, Nova island off the west coast of that, well within acceptable distance to the equator for a proper geosynchronous orbit for the counterweight. (very impressive and informative thread, by the way)
http://www.noyuo.com/ninjao/compass.jpg

I'd also like to reiterate that Ninjao won't be militarizing space - especially not with nuclear weapons - in the forseeable future, our defense satellites are enough. For those that are curious, the satellites carry very precise particle beam weapons, and as such are only of danger to the target. We are not a big fan of projectiles and explosives in space, as bad things can happen with those.

Eniqcir, you appear to be making trouble for the singular purpose of making trouble. You must keep in mind that much of the interior space of the cable is hollow, as to accomodate power systems, warning lights, correction thrusters, locking mechanisms and repair junctions. As such, it is wide, but not dense at all. This (http://fnord.sandwich.net/artwork/fullsize/goingup.jpg) is about what a 10' thick cable would look like. Maybe where you're from they use the metric system and you're not familiar with our crazy imperial measurements, but it's not that big. This seems to simply be a case of "we have them, but nobody else should" elitism.

If you're worried with impacts with satellites, you are again overreacting. Due to the tension and mass of the cable, impacts with anything smaller than a starship would merely damage the track and require a repair machine to be sent from the hub station. Correction thrusters (forced plasma emitters) would be triggered to move the cable back into it's programmed position, if it moved at all. It is natural to worry about such things...a tiny cable like yours would not be able to be as taut as a larget one like yours, and could be snapped or brought down by a satellite impact. The larger diameter of our allows it more structural integrity and more active safety features.

OOC - hot damn, Wendy's spicy chicken sammiches are awesome.

Eniqcir, you appear to be making trouble for the singular purpose of making trouble.
Appearances can be deceiving.
You must keep in mind that much of the interior space of the cable is hollow, as to accomodate power systems, warning lights, correction thrusters, locking mechanisms and repair junctions.
All of which are easily done away with, and just add extra weight that the cable has to hold up.
Maybe where you're from they use the metric system and you're not familiar with our crazy imperial measurements, but it's not that big. This seems to simply be a case of "we have them, but nobody else should" elitism.
We do use the metric system internally, but we're quite aware that some others do not, and are quite capable of translating between them. We don't mind others using elevators, and do in fact encourage it. What we do mind is when other nations do it wrong and become a danger to the rest of us.

If you're worried with impacts with satellites, you are again overreacting. Due to the tension and mass of the cable, impacts with anything smaller than a starship would merely damage the track and require a repair machine to be sent from the hub station.
And what about the satelite?

All of which are easily done away with, and just add extra weight that the cable has to hold up.
I'll have you know that the cable has nothing to do with support. It's just a track for vehicles to ride. The orbiting asteroidal counterweight is what keeps it taut and provides "support" for it. The only thing to worry about regarding the cable is tensile strength, of which it has plenty.

And what about the satelite?
Ka-boom! No really, if we see a satellite that is in danger of colliding, we will make proper arrangements with its owner to move it to a different orbit so that it won't interfere. On the off-chance of a collision, if it's our fault, we'll gladly replace the offending satellite, or offer our own services. If it's their fault, and they didn't bother to make arrangements to move it, then they're on their own. How is this relevant to the current topic of discussion? Are you planning on crashing things into my elevator?

If you are really this concerned (which you have no reason to be), what would you have us do, tear it down? Are you going to build us a new one, plus reimburse us for our trouble? You are getting hung up on details, and are merely arguing moot points because you won't concede that my transport is not, in fact, an inadvertent superweapon.

I'll have you know that the cable has nothing to do with support. It's just a track for vehicles to ride. The orbiting asteroidal counterweight is what keeps it taut and provides "support" for it. The only thing to worry about regarding the cable is tensile strength, of which it has plenty.
And the reason that the cable needs tensile strength is because it has to support everything between the counterweight and the ground, including itself. Adding all that extra weight means you have a reduced cargo capacity.

Ka-boom! No really, if we see a satellite that is in danger of colliding, we will make proper arrangements with its owner to move it to a different orbit so that it won't interfere.
Mm-hm. Even though most of those satellites were there first, and therefore have priority? It's your job to avoid hitting what's already there, not to announce to everybody else that they better move their stuff just to make way for your new elevator.
How is this relevant to the current topic of discussion?
It was one of our original points for why this is one of the worst elevator projects we've ever seen.
If you are really this concerned (which you have no reason to be), what would you have us do, tear it down? Are you going to build us a new one, plus reimburse us for our trouble?
Yes, if that's what it takes.
You are getting hung up on details, and are merely arguing moot points because you won't concede that my transport is not, in fact, an inadvertent superweapon.
Everything is details. Even the much-touted "big picture" is just a collection of details, which cannot be ignored. The points would only be moot if they had already been adressed, which they haven't. And an unstable mountainside prone to major rockslides isn't a superweapon either, but it's still dangerous.

Congratulations! As far as The Ineffable Bureau for Useless-But-Interesting-Facts is aware, yours is only the second ever successful space elevator to be built, and the third ever successful project of its type.

(The others I refer to are the Kitsylvanian space elevator, and the Rubber Chain linking Earth and Mars)

Mm-hm. Even though most of those satellites were there first, and therefore have priority? It's your job to avoid hitting what's already there, not to announce to everybody else that they better move their stuff just to make way for your new elevator.
I'm sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear about that. What I meant is that I would make arrangements with them to move it for them. Touching other people's stuff, especially in space, is a huge liability, and I'd rather not get berated by someone for saving their weather satellite from hitting my cable. Nobody has to go out of their way to do anything for me, I'll do it for them, but I must have their permission first. It is far more economical to move satellites than a several-hundered-ton pole, even you can understand that.

And the reason that the cable needs tensile strength is because it has to support everything between the counterweight and the ground, including itself. Adding all that extra weight means you have a reduced cargo capacity.

May I ask... how? Really, the mass of the cable has nothing to do with the mass/side of the tram that rides along the cable...

What I meant is that I would make arrangements with them to move it for them. Touching other people's stuff, especially in space, is a huge liability, and I'd rather not get berated by someone for saving their weather satellite from hitting my cable.
Well, at least that is good news. But, as you say, it's not economical to move such a huge construct. Hence using ribbons, instead.

May I ask... how? Really, the mass of the cable has nothing to do with the mass/side of the tram that rides along the cable...
But the mass of all that junk inside does. When the cable already has to support untold tonnes of extra equipment in its interior, that many untold tonnes has to be subtracted from your total cargo capacity.

Uh, Eniqcir, I've noticed something interesting about your elevator that maybe you can clear up for me.

You state that your elevator is very thin, and when I listed the equipment necessary for the function of my cable, you told me they could be omitted. This has lead me to believe that you are ALSO omitting them, and as such your elevator is nothing more than a giant flagpole.

If it doesn't have any tracks or power conduits, how do you move maglev vehicles up it? Do you use maglev vehicles? What kind of vehicle do you use? Is it independently powered? Isn't the point of the whole thing to make things safer, cheaper and more efficient? If you're just using it as a guide for some other kind of vehicle, what the hell is the point? The only way I can see this being cheaper and more efficient is if you had astronauts climb up it. If you just drive a glorified tractor up it, again, that's pretty stupid, and hardly qualifies as "safe" or "efficient" and and would possibly be more expensive. If you're not going to power it from the ground or space, what's the point? And how do you keep it from falling off if it broke down?

Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about things crashing into it and moving it around so much if you STRUNG SOME LIGHTS ON IT. Hell, I bet even some Christmas tree lights and some tinsel would make it more visible.

In other words, our elevator is a completely different technology from yours, so you have no business comparing it with yours. And, until you explain your miracle technology to me, the Ninjaon LOT-01 appears to be technically and efficiently superior to your system.

If it doesn't have any tracks or power conduits, how do you move maglev vehicles up it? Do you use maglev vehicles? What kind of vehicle do you use? Is it independently powered? Isn't the point of the whole thing to make things safer, cheaper and more efficient? If you're just using it as a guide for some other kind of vehicle, what the hell is the point? The only way I can see this being cheaper and more efficient is if you had astronauts climb up it. If you just drive a glorified tractor up it, again, that's pretty stupid, and hardly qualifies as "safe" or "efficient" and and would possibly be more expensive. If you're not going to power it from the ground or space, what's the point? And how do you keep it from falling off if it broke down?
An elevator car grips the ribbon with several sets of opposing wheels, and rolls up either to the geosynch station or all the way to the far end to be flung off on an interplanetary insertion path. The underside of each car is a large disc of photovoltaic cells, and power is supplied by ground-based lasers. Keeping the vehicle from falling is extremely simple- just drive the wheels with wormgears, and if the engine fails it will be impossible for the drive train train to be back-driven, keeping the car locked in place.

A 36,000klik long string of lights weighs several hundred tonnes, which reduces the strength of the ribbon and reduces cargo capacity to pointlessly low levels. It is far more feasible just to nudge the cable out of the way.

(OOC: And if you look at RL proposals for space elevators, you will find them far more similar to the Eniqciri design. Big elevators like your's were thrown out long ago.)

blah blah blah
I'm going to try this again. The Ninjaon space elevator is maglev (magnetic levitation, by name it floats a few inches above away from the track). That is, unless the system fails and the vehicle has to rest on a safety clamp, nothing ever TOUCHES the cable, and it merely serves as a track. As long as it stays taut, in a straight line from good old Terra Firma to the counterweight, it works fine. The cable has no impact on carrying capacity, and you'll be hard pressed to find something heavy enough to pull the asteroid out of its orbit. The power systems built into it have a negligible effect as it is (they are part of the cable, not a payload. Don't think of them as a payload), and seeing as how no extra weight is ever really applied to the cable, that is a non-issue.
The only force that the cable every really sees is the competing pull from the asteroid and the earth. Compared to that, any payloads we send up and somehow need to rest on a safety clamp is like resting a paperclip on a fishing line that two people are holding. And it pulling it towards one of the people.

Here's a little experiment: take a couple meters of plastic tubing. Now, fish a copper wire or some other straight thing down the length of it. Take a washer one or two millimeters wider than the tubing and run the tube through it, letting it fall to the bottom. Attach one end of the tubing to the floor, the other to a light fixture or something. Now, slide the washer up the tube. That is essentially the workings and structure of our elevator.

I'm going to try this again. The Ninjaon space elevator is maglev (magnetic levitation, by name it floats a few inches above away from the track). That is, unless the system fails and the vehicle has to rest on a safety clamp, nothing ever TOUCHES the cable, and it merely serves as a track.
Nothing has to physically touch the cable, it just has to transmit a force. In this case, that force is being transmitted via magnetic field. Here's an experiment you can try: put a magnet on a scale, and write down how much it weighs. Put a second magnet on the scale, and write down how much it weighs. Then, float the first magnet over the second. You will find that the scale now registers the sum of the two magnets' weights. The floating magnet isn't shielded from gravity. Every time your track exerts a force to push the car up the elevator, it's going to feel the entire weight of the car pushing back down.

The power systems built into it have a negligible effect as it is (they are part of the cable, not a payload. Don't think of them as a payload)
Unless they have equivalent tensile strength to the rest of the cable (which they most definitely do not), they are "payload", not in the sense that they're something you need transported, but in the sense that the cable has to support them.

ooc:- *Sigh* why don't you both read my old thread I posted on the first page? Most of the answers are there for ya.

ooc:- *Sigh* why don't you both read my old thread I posted on the first page? Most of the answers are there for ya.
Let them argue. I haven't been in a war in a week or so and can't wait. My money and support are on P4lladia.

Libertine Empire of Desudoragon

Yes, Slag, I have read through all five pages. A very interesting read, and I feel the same way that you did in your thread.
PS I got this off another site where they discuss the viability of a space elevator..they said it could be done, NASA said it could be done, many other websites say it can be done, but Wazzu has a problem with it..Oh well
Exactly my thoughts. Our elevators work on a very different technology than theirs (despite serving the same purpose and being made of the same basic material). They can bitch all they want, I'm not going to be removing my very expensive and veryuseful space elevator because of a couple chicken-little elitists.

Eniqcir, my elevator works, and it works well. It's cheap to run, moves what I need, is very reliable and has all necessary safety measures taken to ensure that it will not endanger anyone. If you can't accept that because it doesn't meet the technical specifications of your (very different) transport, that's unfortunate. You can consider the pissing match over. If you have anymore issues with the nation of P4lladia or its allies, they will be dealt with on the battlefield. Oh, and to address your queries for the final time, the cable is not load bearing, the asteroid is. Forces acting on the cable are simply not enough to disturb it, and pull on the asteroid is negligible, considering how much the (mostly iron) space rock weighs.
__________________

Sorry for that little 1.5-page disturbance, friends, we may now continue discussing transport contracts and other things.

OOC: Oi, it is impossible to have a space elevator where the cable is not load bearing. If the cable isn't holding anything, it is worthless. To be perfectly frank, I have no idea whether you're arguing for yourself or just playing out the part of an unmoving beaurocracy, but either way, past here it's not worth it. Just FYI, dealing with it on the battle field would not be a problem, but it's far easier for me to simply ignore it. I'll just chalk up another nat. that doesn't pay attention to physics, and go on my merry way....

OOC: Oi, it is impossible to have a space elevator where the cable is not load bearing. If the cable isn't holding anything, it is worthless. To be perfectly frank, I have no idea whether you're arguing for yourself or just playing out the part of an unmoving beaurocracy, but either way, past here it's not worth it. Just FYI, dealing with it on the battle field would not be a problem, but it's far easier for me to simply ignore it. I'll just chalk up another nat. that doesn't pay attention to physics, and go on my merry way....
If you are going to ignore it then do so and stop posting here.

Bumperoo! We could use some more transport contracts!