Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Looking back through history, I see no evidence for humanity making the best of things, and I think it's a pretty safe bet that's an on-going trend."
- Richard Morgan
 |
| Flip to Brake | ||
| Maneuver to put the tail end (with rocket output) in the forward direction of travel to use for lowering velocity. |
A clever, and realistic, strategy. This is an early use of this idea; I can't think of an earlier one.
| “Unless I’ve gone cuckoo, I saw that three-cornered
rock,” he muttered as he set the keys for a complete
half turn. “And not just one of those strangely familiar rocks, but the very same one I saw by that platinum bed!”
The cylindrical vehicle gently swung in a half circle at his manipulations with the keys, and blasted the rear tubes straight into its course of flight. But Timothy put on all the rocket force it was safe to use to slow the boat. He was pressed uncomfortably back into the seat. Far in front he could see the black outline of the asteroid he wanted to reach, that he had just passed. It grew smaller for a while as the rockets cut down the forward inertia, then began to grow in size as the boat was pushed back along its previous course. |
| Technovelgy from Murder on the Asteroid,
by Eando Binder. Published by Wonder Stories in 1933 Additional resources -
|
Robert Heinlein described this idea in his 1941 classic Methuselah's Children:
He figured the relative vector, gunned the gig, flipped, and gunned to brake-homed-in three minutes off estimate, feeling smug. He cradled the gig, hurried inside...
See also Cargo for Colony 6 (1958) by Christopher Anvil:
The whole ship sprang forward, ramming New far back in the acceleration couch and choking the breath out of him. There was a high, squeaking screech, and his insides seemed to twist sidewise and up. A nauseous sense of being wrenched two ways at once gripped him, and he was swallowed in a rush of blackness. His last dwindling sensations were of a heavy crash and an abrupt silence...
"...just exactly what . . . did you do just then?”
"Spun the ship like a gyro,” said Hughes proudly, "jammed on full forward acceleration, then gave her everything I had to jerk the tail side-wise and around in a new direction. She really jumped, and then I improvised a little.” He chortled.
The 2016 series The Expanse is very true-to-life in space; this maneuver is shown.
As Lazarus approached his rendezvous with the Chili he signaled from the gig; the Chili's transponder echoed, to his relief-he had little faith in gear he had not personally overhauled and a long search for the Chili at this point would have been disastrous.
There was the soft chime of a bell over the earphones, then a wash of colors. Then a violent slam back into the acceleration chair as the ship sprang forward, swung head-for-tail, then braked hard...
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Murder on the Asteroid
More Ideas
and Technology by Eando Binder
Tech news articles related to Murder on the Asteroid
Tech news articles related to works by Eando Binder
| Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS |
| Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon |
| JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 |
| First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
