The very first or "pilot" ribbon would be only 2 cm wide in the atmosphere to reduce wind impact, 5 cm in space, and 10 cm in danger zone from space junk. 1 micron thick throughout. So a 1 cm hole would be a serious problem. The first 230 climbers would carry only additional ribbon, which is attached to the first ribbon, gradually making it broader, thicker and heavier.
The first climbers would weigh 900 kg. The very first one is 380 kg of machinery and structure, and 519 kg of payload (ribbon). As more layers are added and the ribbon becomes stronger, the climbers and payload increase, in steps or around 12 kg per climber. The ribbon will be first widened to 30 cm, then increased in thickness. I have no idea how this can be done at 200 km/h. The first 230 climbers would be left at the far end of the ribbon, 100,000 km from earth, as counterweights. Until you make a second ribbon I guess all the climbers would be one-way. As I said, it would be far cheaper and easier to lift a second ribbon with the first one already in place, and a few people at the other end to fix glitches. The pilot ribbon has to be dropped, not lifted, obviously. That's the hard part. The other hard part is developing the ribbon material in the first place. Drop the pilot, run up 230 climbers, and Bob's your uncle -- the whole solar system opens up. - Jed
