A robot has taken the first small step toward the building of a real space elevator, soaring more than a half-mile above the Mojave Desert in four minutes. Activists are over the Moon (as it were).

Admittedly, at least for now, the idea of a beanstalk-style space elevator connecting Earth and space is a stretch. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and ...

Space elevators belong to that class of technology that we all want to see become a reality within our lifetimes, but deep-down doubt we’ll ever get to witness firsthand. Like cold fusion, or faster ...