Space Elevators

(See the Wikipedia article).

The Space Elevators, from about the 2030s, begin to finally fulfil the economic potential of space, despite huge budget blowouts on the early ones.

Shortly after the first elevator was built in the mid-Pacific, Asian interests put one up in the Indian Ocean (fairly close to Indonesia). The third to be started, but the fourth to be finished, was built by Brazil in the Atlantic close to the mouth of the Amazon; despite massive construction delays, cost overruns, health and safety and corruption scandals, it eventually became very successful and took a lot of business from the mid-Pacific tower, being closer to the US (and Europe).

Further towers were built by European-African consortia near both African coasts, and by US-South American interests off the west coast of Ecuador.

Extensive railways built with space-sourced and space-worked materials were key to getting goods and people to and from the bases of the towers from more northerly and southerly locations.

With the advent of the skycans, considerable immigration ensued using the towers (referred to as “going up the line”). The populations of impoverished tropical countries, in particular, emigrated in large numbers, in some cases virtually deported by tribal rivals who were in control of their governments and dropped with inadequate resources in poorly-built habitats, and/or exploited by industrialists as cheap labour. The United Regions works to reverse some of the negative impacts of these developments, to resettle both these populations and others displaced by war, famine or natural disaster in viable habitats, and to police the habitats for abuses (see Canned Goods Inspector).