This will be a short post that will summarize what I've found so far. It is liberally sprinkled with my own speculations, which, if you would like to see it that way, would be like taking it all with a grain of salt.
First of all, the Space Cannon could launch fuel to a depot in LEO.
Space tugs powered by VASIMR propulsion would take payloads to EML-1
Conventional rockets would take payloads from there to the Moon and build a Moonbase
Using the Moonbase, aggregate materials from the Moon in order to facilitate construction of a Moonstalk
The Moonstalk at EML-1 (after its construction) would enable construction of another one at EML-2
From there, go to Mars and repeat by building a Martian space elevator.
All of this may seem too far-fetched, but the VASIMR techonology could be the kickoff for all of this. And this technology is about to be tested on the ISS. The Space Cannon is a near term probability, in my opinion.
We already know most of the rest, except the lunar space elevator. But this wouldn't require any new special techniques nor materials. If you want, you could also see these ideas or concepts as a type of combustible mixture that just needs a spark to get it moving. Once VASIMR and the Space Cannon get proven, which I think is high probability (bold statement there, since I don't know what I'm talking about), the rest of this falls into place. (Another bold statement, but if you're going to go, then go all out.)
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