The Hoytether is a trademarked name of [1] for a novel topology for a space tether, consisting of a lattice of strands, arranged in a circular cross-section with redundancy to handle potential damage from space debris and micrometeoroids.[2]
The Hoytether concept was proposed in 1995 by Robert P. Hoyt and Robert L. Forward.[3][4]
The MAST tether experiment was launched 17 April 2007 aboard a Dnepr rocket. with a 1 km multistrand, interconnected Hoytether to attempt to test and prove the long-term survivability for tethers in space. Unfortunately the tether failed to deploy.