Gravity hook

Gravity hooks were orbital stations connected to a planet's surface by incredibly long turbolift shafts and repulsorlifts. The stations were limited in use to the purposes of industrial transportation, due to low speed, small transport capacity, and high energy costs. Gravity hooks consisted of loading rings fixed to the surface and docking rings at the top of the turbolifts.

Gravity hooks were in use on the planet Makeb, as its hazardous atmospheric conditions caused electromagnetic interference that posed a danger to flight. Cargo could not be transported by usual means, as the atmospheric anomalies destroyed vessels larger than personal shuttles. In order to transport valuable minerals extracted from Makeb's mesas, mining corporations from the planet constructed gravity hooks in order to circumvent this issue, and successfully created an alternative for the transportation of cargo offworld. The gravity hooks present on Makeb included Gravity Hook Four and Gravity Hook Seven.

By 3638 BBY, many gravity hooks on Makeb had fallen into disuse, corresponding with an increase in modifications to starships that allowed for safer atmospheric flight.

Gravity hooks were similar in purpose and concept to skyhooks.

Text and facts from the “Gravity hook” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.