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"Generally, the human race avoids doing anything radical until forced into it."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Skyhook | ||
| Part dirigible, part plane. |
| There was a loud hiss, and a great ghostly bag formed. It began to rise until it was above my platform. The plastic gleamed in the artificial light streaming from inside the warehouse. The bag billowed until it was huge above us, and still it grew as the compressed helium poured out of the inflating cylinders...
The choppers settled onto the bags. Up on top the helicopter crews were floundering around on the billowing stuff to make certain the fastenings were set right... The troops outside were grinning at us as they cut loose the tethers holding the balloons. Nothing happened, of course; the idea of Skyhook is to have almost neutral buoyancy, so that the lift from the gas bags just balances the weight of the load. |
| Technovelgy from West of Honor,
by Jerry Pournelle. Published by Simon and Schuster in 1976 Additional resources -
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and Technology from West of Honor
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Tech news articles related to West of Honor
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Skyhook-related
news articles:
- Dynalifter Prototype Ready For Flight
- Skyhook Jess Heavy Lifter Like Pournelle's Skyhook
- Could Blimps Replace Planes For Cargo?
| Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany |
| San Francisco Autobus |
| Volvo's Autonomous Truck |
| Eviation Alice Electric Plane First Flight |
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'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
