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					Originally Posted by 9th Engineer
					
				 
				The only material we need to work on is how long we can braid carbon nanotube strands, 
			
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 I hope so, but manufacturing will have to become extremely exact, as the tiniest flaw 
dramatically decreases the strength of a nanotube.  And I don't know the physics, but I can certainly see hard radiation, drastic temperature differentials, and space-dust impacts could cause imperfections even if our production methods are perfect.  Some form of continually-replaced shielding would probably be needed, which would dramatically increase the weight of the cable.