Kurzgesagt ponders the question of whether space elevators can be built and answers it as only they can. It’s fascinating to learn about the (obvious) benefits of having a space elevator—sending things to space becomes much, much cheaper!—but even if it’ll take forever and a half to build this mythical 22,370-mile structure (which we can’t yet with our current technology), it might be worth it just to better explore our options for exploring space.
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DISCUSSION
The one factor that would prevent a practical space elevator is all the junk and other satellites that are up there now. I would think there would be a huge chance of something up there colliding with the tether. Satellites may be able to maneuver out of the way, but lots of stuff up there can’t.