The International Space Elevator Consortium conducted a year-long study on the development of a space elevator Earth Port. This report addresses the functional requirements and missions leading to a mature engineering complex along the equator. The report represents the culmination of efforts by multiple contributors describing the functions and operations of the Earth Port and how it interacts with other space elevator nodes. The challenge was to bring in a fresh perspective on an Earth Port by leveraging experts in many fields beyond those normally associated with space elevators. As a result of the contributions from a variety of professional backgrounds, this study should reflect a more realistic perspective of the activities at the Earth Port of a future space elevator.

The International Space Elevator Consortium has created this position paper as a recognition that the space debris problem is an engineering one and can be mitigate. The question: "Will space debris be a show stopper for space elevators?" is answered emphatically - NO! The mitigation concepts presented change the issue from a perceived problem to an engineering concern; but, by no means is it a significant threat. This pamphlet illustrates how the development office for a future space elevator can attack this problem, predict probabilities of collision, and convert the concern into another manageable engineering problem.

The subject selected for this 2013 study is the Space Elevator Tether Climber. The objective of the one year study was to survey current concepts and technologies related to tether climbers, identify critical issues, questions, and concerns, assess their impact on the development of space elevators, and project towards the future. The following are a few of the conclusions: * The study used the concept of "constant power" as a baseline because of its ability to lower design requirements on the tether climber. * The mass breakout of 6 MT for a climber and 14 MT for customer payloads seems feasible. The estimate is that with a travel time of one week to GEO seven tether climbers can be on a tether simultaneously. * The communication architecture should be integrated into the space elevator infrastructure and nodal layout. * Solar power, as the sole source, appears achievable. * The use of laser power as the sole source also seems achievable.

While the development of Space Elevator tethers and climbers is a daunting task, their operation will leverage 50 years of satellite operations. This leads to the conclusion: Operations for a Space Elevator Have NO Showstoppers Have Reasonable Costs Meet the Challenges i?