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
 |
SpaceX Fairing Catch Suggestion
SpaceX is serious about reuse; not only to they land their booster rockets for later refurbishment and reuse, they also try to collect the payload fairings used to protect satellites during launch.
( SpaceX Fairing Catch )
It's difficult to predict where they will land, and difficult to maneuver a boat with a big net into position. I happened across a cool story by Ed Earl Repp published in Air Wonder Stories in 1929. Flight of the Eastern Star suggests that vast airships can be equipped with rescue nets to capture (in the case of the story) men using parachutes.
“Can you manage to get into port. No. 12?” he asked.“I doubt it, sir!” the man wheezed, still coughing: “She's settling forward now, and she’s likely to plunge at any moment! Can you take on my crew?”
“All right!” Captain Markson returned, scowling: “I’ll do it! We’ll spread nets on our hull top, and lay-to right under you in one minute! I’ll take the chance with my own passengers for humanity’s sake! ’Chute your men through the safety tube and I’ll catch ’em in the nets. Hurry!”
The skipped yelled an unintelligible something, as the screen died. Captain Markson grabbed a telephone and yelled into it.
“Raise the rescue nets!” he bellowed: “And stand by for further orders!”
(Rescue nets from 'Flight of the Eastern Star' by Ed Earl Repp)
Thanks to @HumanoidHistory for mentioning this story using art!
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/2/2023)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.' - Cordwainer Smith, 1960.
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.' - Harl Vincent, 1931.
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.' - Orson Scott Card, 1985.
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
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'
Transporting Antimatter
'...drawing plans for the magnetic tongs and bed plates and relays.'
Polish Turns Your Nail Into A Stylus
'He wrote on it, using the pointed fingernail of his right forefinger...'
