Centennial Orbital Elevator

The Centennial Orbital Elevator was a Space Elevator constructed in Havana on the island of Cuba on Earth. By 2552, it was 200 year old and was considered antiquated. The Elevator terminated at Station Wayward Rest, in Geosynchronous Orbit above the elevator, and was managed by the Centennial Orbital Elevator Control. The Centennial Orbital Elevator was called by the locals Tallo Negro del Maiz, translating ultimately into "stalk of black corn." This is because of its appearance, a line stretching from the ground into the clouds.

This, along with the Quito Space Tether, is one of two space elevators located in Latin America. The other's base was located in Quito, Ecuador, and appears to have been more fortunate than its Cuban cousin.

History

Given its name and age, it is probable that the elevator was constructed in commemoration of some event that occurred in the mid-2200s (most likely the start of development on the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, unveiled after years of research in 2291).

During the Battle of Earth on November 3, 2552, the COE was one of the few surviving heavy lifting orbital elevators on Earth. In the Battle of Havana, the elevator was taken over by the Covenant Jiralhanae forces, who intended to use it to transport stolen FENRIS Nuclear Warhead into orbit. Since the Covenant invasion, contact with the elevator control had been lost. The SPARTAN-II Blue Team were deployed to Havana to retake the elevator and secure the nukes. They succeeded in doing so, and ascended up in one of the cars. The station and the elevator were destroyed when the Blue Team detonated six of the nuclear warheads aboard a Covenant Destroyer in close proximity to Station Wayward Rest. The station was obliterated by the blast and the entire length of the COE crumpled and fell back to Earth.