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
 |
Launch-Abort Motor For NASA: The Next Generation
NASA is testing the launch-abort motor for the new Constellation program. The test took place November 20th in Promontory, Utah. The launch-abort motor fired for just over five seconds (see video below). More than a half-million pounds of thrust were produced almost immediately upon ignition.
(NASA tests 'ejection seat' motor video)
A flight test for Constellation is planned for next spring at White Sands, NM. That test will use a fully integrated launch-abort system with a full-size model of the Orion crew capsule.
As far as I know, one of the first suggestions that space craft might need ejection seats is Murray Leinster in Space Tug, a 1953 novel.
"Look, Joe! We checked everything last night. We checked it again this morning. I even caught Mike polishing the ejection seats, because there wasn't anything else to make sure of!"Joe managed a smile. The ejection seats were assuredly the most unlikely of all devices to be useful today. They were supposedly life-saving devices. If the ship came a cropper on take-off, the four of them were supposed to use ejection-seats like those supplied to jet pilots. They would be thrown clear...
(Read more about Leinster's )
Ejector seats for aircraft were first used in Germany in the late 1930's; they were perfected in WWII. The only ejector seats designed and used in spacecraft were installed in the Soviet Vostok craft, and in the American Gemini craft.
From NASA Testing Ejection Seat and NASA Tests Escape Motor for New Moonship.
Note to readers: It occurs to me that this my 2,000th article for Science Fiction in the News. My initial intent was to have a site with a glossary of science-fictional inventions and ideas. After a few weeks, I read about something that made me think "I've seen this before - in sf. Perhaps I'll write an article or two."
I appreciate everyone's interest and comments. I particularly appreciate those who have contributed ideas for stories and technovelgy items. Thanks to Moira, Winchell, Fred, Yossi, MrX_TLO, BajaB, Adi, Carl, Zac, Eric, Vik, CyberStrike, Jonathan, Amy, Odon, Your Obedient Serpent, Jason, Kaj, Chris, Jerry, Ray, Robert, Erik, Nicholas, Eric, Conor, John, Andy, Tarik, Simon, Rob, Icecycle, Ashley, Bob, Mike, Elim, Tuey, Diego, Masa, Armchair Anarchist, Jeff, The Sabre Runner, Trevor, Mark, Edward, Paul, Pete, Tim, Jez, R. Probert, Xenophile, Sam, Agiani, Matt, Steve, William, Lou, Gil, Justin, Jim, Greg, asmohr, Daz, Bill, Larry, Walt, Yoon, Alex, Moomintroll, Randy, Nebula Nox, Pipedreamergrey and Miez, Dominic, Misja, Sky, Blue Monkey, Stan, Edo, Dave, Victor, AJ, Dan, RandomAction, Athelind, Jack, Joanne98, Regine, Joel, Flaminio, Jeremy, Trey, S. Jones, Alan W., reg, Bob F., KafirCake, Akira, Joel and the many readers who have contributed anonymously or who I forgot.
End note.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/22/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.' - Arthur William Bernal (1935)
Denmark Joins The 'Zero Debris Charter' To Clean Up Space
'Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...' Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.' V.E. Thiessen, 1947.
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 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
Current News
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
