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"As the rate of technological development speeds up, the gap between science fiction and what we’re living now is getting narrower all the time."
- Richard Morgan
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| Shuttle | ||
| A space craft that travels point to point in space. |
As far as I know, the earliest use of the word "shuttle" in science fiction.
| "To the shuttle!” yelled Joslin. And indeed this seemed the only avenue to escape left open. Quickly the trap door to shuttle number one was banged open. The eight quickly entered and the door was once more bolted shut. A minute later they were flung free from the doomed vessel. Quickly the shuttle was reversed and turned away from the Barta. The last they saw of that wonderful ship, she was headed directly toward the blinding glare of the sun.
 (Shuttle from 'Liners of Space' by Jim Vanny) In due time the shuttle was picked up by a Venusian liner bound for the Earth. And although the great Barta itself was lost forever, the shuttle proved invaluable to the staff of Inter-Stellar Lines. |
| Technovelgy from Liners of Space,
by Jim Vanny. Published by Air Wonder Stories in 1930 Additional resources -
|
Theodore Sturgeon used this word in his 1950 story The Stars are the Styx:
See also references to shuttle ship and Winged Rocket Shuttle from Heinlein's 1951 novel Between Planets and JAL shuttle from Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer.
I WAS waiting in the entry bell when Judson arrived on Curbstone. Judson had nothing to do with that. I didn't even know he was on that particular shuttle. It's just that, aside from the fact that I happen to be Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, I like to meet the shuttles.
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| Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message |
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| Used Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Will Fly Again |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.'
