In the late 22nd century advances in Smart Materials opened a new route to space, the Star Ladder. The Star Ladder, a "ladder" which connects ground cities to orbital cities, revolutionized space travel. Beginning as a carbon strand spun down from an orbital city, the Star Ladder was reinforced with electrically conductive "muscles" capable of flexing to meet sudden gusts of wind and changing temperatures. Up until the Star Ladder, though mankind had entered into space, the cost of launching was immense. The Star Ladder changed all this by providing a cheap and pollution free method of "launching" cargo into space.