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"In WWII, they had a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. I think the modern equivalent of that is that there are no jaded, bored people in the high-tech industry, in the land of really good hardcore geeks."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Spaceplane | ||
| A craft able to land on Earth and take off directly for space. |
As far as I know, this is the first use of the word "spaceplane" in science fiction.
| WHAT COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
I CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT, ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS ON THIS PLANET WON'T PERMIT SUCH A THING. EITHER SOME POWERFUL BEINGS FROM SPACE, PERHAPS FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE, ARE ENGAGED IN CONQUEST --- OR --- BUT I WON'T THINK OF THAT! ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!
 (Spaceplane from 'Zarnak' by Max Plaisted) YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, VAECO. I'M LEAVING IMMEDIATELY IN MY SPACEPLANE! |
| Technovelgy from Zarnak,
by Max Plaisted. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1937 Additional resources -
|
Here is the first panel in which it appears:
(Spaceplane panel from 'Zarnak' by Max Plaisted)
Compare to the space shuttle fro Hell Ship of Space (1940) by Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr., the shuttle from Stars are Styx (1950) by Theodore Sturgeon, the shuttle ship and Winged Rocket Shuttle from Heinlein's 1951 novel Between Planets, the JAL shuttle from Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer and the Clarke Spaceplane from A Quantum Murder (1998) by Peter F. Hamilton.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Zarnak
More Ideas
and Technology by Max Plaisted
Tech news articles related to Zarnak
Tech news articles related to works by Max Plaisted
Spaceplane-related
news articles:
- Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
| 3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand |
| Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold |
| Carpentopod Walking Table |
| Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells |
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'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
