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Lava Tubes On Moon And Mars
'...it never was built, or anything like that; it's just a big volcanic bubble.' - Robert Heinlein, 1957.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/14/2024 ) |
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SpaceX Intros Extravehicular Activity Suit
'Provision had been made to meet the terrific cold which we knew would be encountered the moment we had passed beyond the atmosphere.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garret P. Serviss, 5/4/2024 ) |
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.' - L. Ron Hubbard, 1948.
(re: L. Ron Hubbard, 4/6/2024 ) |
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Space Weather To Universe Weather
'It radiates outward in a cone which, by the time it has reached our section of space, is many lightyears across.' - Poul Anderson, 1953.
(re: Poul Anderson, 9/23/2023 ) |
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Quadruple-Star System Now Forming
'... ravished with joy, I gazed at the giant suns, Arcturus and Betelguese, and the red Antares, and at systems of double and triple and quadruple suns...' - Stanton Coblentz, 1934.
(re: Stanton Coblentz, 8/1/2023 ) |
Nuclear Rockets To Fly In Space!
'... the only type of engine which could possibly transport a heavy machine from our earth to some planet, would have to be the atomic-energy engine.' -
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/21/2023 ) |
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Space Hotel Will Have Artificial Gravity By 2025
'The cylinder whirls constantly, with such speed that the centrifugal force against the sides equals the force of gravity on the earth.' - Jack Williamson, 1931.
(re: Jack Williamson, 6/17/2023 ) |
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Skiing On The Moon - Skiing on Asteroids?
'MacIntyre bent down without a word and picked up the wide skis necessary to negotiate the powdery ash.' - Robert Heinlein, 1940.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 2/17/2023 ) |
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Taikonaut Tai Chi Foot Loops
'Jimmy Cardigan and Harlowe, staring through the darkside port, had their feet in the foot-loops...' - Murray Leinster, 1931.
(re: Murray Leinster, 1/5/2023 ) |
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Orion's 'Skip-to-M'Lou' Entry
'A lightning pilot possibly could land that tin toy without power and still walk away from it provided he had the skill to play Skip-to-M’Lou in and out of the atmosphere...' - Robert Heinlein, 1958.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/1/2023 ) |
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Spaceships Should Last So Long
'THE SPACE VESSEL was traveling swiftly… For over five thousand years they had Voyaged on and on.’ - E.C. Tubb, 1955.
(re: E.C. Tubb, 7/19/2022 ) |
Space Station Shutters
'The sun-quilt was a patchwork of colors and materials on the inward side, but silvered on the outward side...' - Fritz Leiber, 1961.
(re: Fritz Leiber, 7/13/2022 ) |
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Vast Cosmic Structures And Spooky Alignments
'This postulates a force-field of partly electromagnetic character, generated by gyromagnetic action within atomic nuclei near the center of the galaxy.' - Poul Anderson, 1953.
(re: Poul Anderson, 4/5/2022 ) |
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Kilometer-Wide Rotating Space Station On One Rocket
'It was not to be by any of your sudden explosions. It was to be done as all great things are done,--by the gradual and silent accumulation of power.' - Edward Everett Hale, 1869.
(re: Edward Everett Hale, 3/7/2022 ) |
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NASA's Exoplanet Superheroes
'I... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching... These instruments were the wonderful ones our astronomers had perfected.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 2/23/2022 ) |
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Chang'e-5 Lunar Lander Seeks Water
'... get out the solar power apparatus and send it down to us from the air-lock by the crane.' - Max Valier, 1931.
(re: Max Valier, 1/5/2022 ) |
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SpinLaunch SubOrbital Accelerator
'The crowds came right up to the rail of the catapult... the jets would not blast until she was high over the peak.' - Robert Heinlein, 1950.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/19/2021 ) |
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Orbital Reef: Bezos' High Orbit Archipelago
'Tessier-Ashpool ascended to high orbit's archipelago to find the ecliptic sparsely marked with military stations and the first automated factories of the cartels' - William Gibson, 1988.
(re: William Gibson, 10/23/2021 ) |
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Time For Your Space Weather Forecast
'On the three-dimensional map at weather headquarters on the planet Kaider III, the storm was colored orange.' - AE van Vogt, 1943.
(re: AE van Vogt, 10/11/2021 ) |
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Bigelow BEAM Still Useful On ISS
'It's a shame, ain't it, Frank—calling a pretty thing like that a 'bubb'—it's an ugly word. Or even a 'space bubble.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1961.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 5/15/2021 ) |
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Capture Asteroids In A Bag
'... just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.' - VE Thiessen, 1947.
(re: VE Theissen, 3/23/2021 ) |
Space 'Hurricane' Has Been Seen
'... it was the biggest of the four hundred odd storms raging in the Fifty Suns region.' - AE van Vogt, 1943.
(re: AE van Vogt, 3/13/2021 ) |
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Comercial Airlock 'Bishop' Now On ISS
'They put the bones and the glass can that had contained the soup into the double-doored partition or vestibule...' - John Jacob Astor IV, 1894.
(re: John Jacob Astor, 12/13/2020 ) |
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New Technology For Interplanetary Communication
'... sweating, heat-blistered engineers at every interplanetary radiograph station on three planets, stood by their generators.' - Harry Gore Bishop, 1907.
(re: Harry Gore Bishop, 10/23/2020 ) |
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An Ocean On Ceres
'We sailed gently forward, hull down to the asteroid's surface... A little sea was now beneath us.' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
(re: Ray Cummings, 8/7/2020 ) |
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Powdered Regolith Propulsion
'... filling their great tanks with the finely divided dust which the ionic rockets would spit out in electrified jets.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1951.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 7/1/2020 ) |
Tether Asteroids To Save Us All
'If anything can glue the asteroids back into the planet they once were, magnology will do it.' - Richard Wilson, 1958.
(re: Richard Wilson, 6/21/2020 ) |
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SpaceX Will Build Floating Spaceports!
'...a single perfectly level platform, which rose so high above the water that it was not splashed by the waves.' - Otfrid von Hanstein, 1930.
(re: Otfrid von Hansten, 6/7/2020 ) |
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Space Weather News!
'On the three-dimensional map at weather headquarters on the planet Kaider III, the storm was colored orange.' - AE van Vogt, 1943.
(re: AE van Vogt, 5/23/2020 ) |
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Trillionaires Still Earth-Bound
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 10/25/2019 ) |
Grow Plants On Moon Or Mars!
'In contrast to the airless desolation outside, the interior of this five-acre greenhouse was the one most desirable place to be.' Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 10/19/2019 ) |
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A Floating Cosmodrome
'...a single perfectly level platform, which rose so high above the water that it was not splashed by the waves.' - Otfrid von Hanstein, 1930.
(re: Otfrid von Hansten, 9/1/2019 ) |
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Japan Uses Explosives On Asteroid
'...a tiny, rocket-powered projectile, drove towards the mysterious bulk. It hit, exploding into a cloud of incandescent vapour.' - EC Tubb, 1958.
(re: EC Tubb, 3/16/2019 ) |
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PD Aerospace Space Plane By 2023
'The sleek, tapered space shuttle lay immobile upon the private landing field...' - Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr., 1940.
(re: Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr, 9/1/2018 ) |
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Build Your Own Space Suit For Cheap
'I'm going to pump the air from this room... so that the interior will be like airless and pressure-less space.'- Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 7/21/2018 ) |
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A Space Ship On My Back
''Darn clever, these suits,' he murmured.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Jack Williamson, 6/27/2018 ) |
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Astronaut Gets Younger In Space
'So what we're looking for now is not an antibiotic - an anti-life drug - but an anti-agathic, an anti-death drug...' - James Blish, 1957.
(re: Neil R. Jones, 3/7/2018 ) |
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Bigelow Prepares Inflatable Lunar Hotel
'Suddenly, hitherto unheard-of sums of money became available for investment in civilian orbital stations.' - Carl Sagan, 1985.
(re: Car Sagan, 1/17/2018 ) |
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Ancient Ocean On Ceres?
'We sailed gently forward, hull down to the asteroid's surface... A little sea was now beneath us.'
(re: Ray Cummings, 10/30/2017 ) |
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SpaceX BFR Lands $41M From USAF
'Presently, near Kansas City, the sky turned from black to purple again...' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 10/21/2017 ) |
Russian Space Garden
'We saw the gardens, flooded with artificial sunlight...' - Harley S. Aldinger, 1932.
(re: Harley S. Aldinger, 10/2/2017 ) |
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Space-Based Sustainable Energy Policy
'The Power Planet, of course, is that vast man-made disk of metal set spinning about the sun to supply the Earth with power.' - Murray Leinster, 1931.
(re: Murray Leinster, 12/2/2016 ) |
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NASA Submarine For Titan
'Straight away from the shore it swam, seeing nothing but flecks of paraffin...' - Michael Swanwick, 2002.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 8/22/2016 ) |
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Io's Sulphur Dioxide
'All the water in the air froze first and made a blanket ten feet thick or so...' - Fritz Lieber, 1951.
(re: Fritz Lieber, 7/24/2016 ) |
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Are There Diamond Planets?
'I believe the whole central portion of the earth is one great diamond.' - Frank Stockton, 1897.
(re: Frank Stockton, 6/21/2016 ) |
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DARPA's XS-1 Spaceplane
'They were more airplane than spaceship...' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/13/2016 ) |
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NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission
'[Asteroid] Eighty-eight received a series of gentle pats, always on the side headed along her course...' - Robert Heinlein, 1939.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 12/9/2015 ) |
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Artificial Gravity? Why Not?
'The artificial gravity-controls in the base of the ship... were being tampered with!' - Ray Cummings
(re: Ray Cummings, 7/19/2015 ) |
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LightSail Solar Sail Deploys
'This was the first time any solar yacht had ever attained it...'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1964.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 6/8/2015 ) |
Suit Up! Fifty Years Of Spacewalks Video
'I experienced for a few minutes the delicious, indescribable pleasure of being a little planet...'- Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 6/3/2015 ) |
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NASA's VestaTrek - Visit Asteroid Vesta
'At the Asteroids Homesteaders' School in Chicago... he had been shown diagrams and photographs of Vesta.'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 3/21/2015 ) |
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Testing New Spacesuits In 1929 And 2015
'I'm going to pump the air from this room... so that the interior will be like airless and pressure-less space.'- Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 2/23/2015 ) |
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Will We Mine The Moon For Ice?
'That's okay, still ice in The Rock and a miner expects to sound for it...'- Robert Heinlein, 1966.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/30/2015 ) |
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HAVOC Over Venus ala Bespin
'Cloud City is an installation on the planet Bespin...'- George Lucas, 1980.
(re: Fritz Leiber, 12/20/2014 ) |
Should SETI Talk To Molecular Cloud Barnard 68?
'I myself am building basic chemicals at about 10,000,000,000 times the rate at which building is occurring on the whole ... surface of your planet.'- Fred Hoyle, 1957.
(re: Fred Hoyle, 12/17/2014 ) |
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The Manned Maneuvering Unit Story
'Little spurts of red-orange flame from the reaction pistol marked his companion's trail...'- Gordon A. Giles, 1937.
(re: Gordon A. Giles, 10/15/2014 ) |
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Tracking Spinning Space Junk
'Loose nuts and bolts... had been accumulating in Earth orbit'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/13/2014 ) |
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Shimuzu Luna Ring Solar Power Project
'This was really free power... Power carried across millions of miles on Addison's tight-beam principle.'- Clifford Simak, 1941.
(re: Clifford Simak, 2/24/2014 ) |
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30-Day Trip To Mars?
'The Federation Ship Champion... made the crossing under Lyle Drive in only nineteen days.'- Robert Heinlein, 1961.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 4/7/2013 ) |
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Married Couples! Want To Go To Mars?
'...someone who was willing to look up for him the names of single female volunteers who might (with him) complete a crew...'- Robert Heinlein, 1961.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 3/3/2013 ) |
Space-Based Solar Power May Yet Happen
'Immediately beneath it hung the photosynthesis stations and the machinery for generating power from solar radiation.'- Olaf Stapledon 1937.
(re: Olaf Stapledon, 2/28/2013 ) |
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Don't Miss The Planetary Show!
'...the human race was fortunate to have seen such a wonder; it could exist for only a brief moment of time.'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1968.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/27/2013 ) |
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ARED Keeps ISS Astronauts Fit
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses... set for full Earth-gravity simulation.'- Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 1/11/2013 ) |
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Asteroid To Orbit Moon?
'[Asteroid] Eighty-eight received a series of gentle pats, always on the side headed along her course.' - Robert Heinlein, 1939
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/8/2013 ) |
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RASC-AL Lunar Wheel Design Challenge Is ON!
'...one tanker rolled on the peculiar flex-wheels which had proved one of the best all-purpose ways of getting around on the Moon.'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1968
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/26/2012 ) |
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Seeing the High Energy Sky
Dramatic videos show how ESA's Integral helps us see the universe in a whole new light.
(re: Various, 10/19/2012 ) |
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Asteroid Miners Wanted!
'We must dig down, and then doubtless we shall find the metal.'- Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 9/30/2012 ) |
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What Price Warp Drive?
'Every atom of ship... was driven around space... by a direct reaction against the space warp itself.' - Jack Williamson, 1936.
(re: Jack Williamson, 9/24/2012 ) |
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NASA's Robotic Rover Drivers
'Helmuth, after all, was not on Jupiter - though that was becoming harder and harder for him to bear in mind.'
(re: James Blish, 9/9/2012 ) |
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I Want A Curiosity Rover Sky Crane!
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
(re: Jack Vance, 8/16/2012 ) |
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Robofish - To Europa!
It's a long way to Jupiter, so those robotic fish are going to need some help.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 3/28/2012 ) |
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Handy Zero-G Cup
Serving tea in space is harder than you might think.
(re: Murray Leinster, 2/26/2012 ) |
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Robonaut ISS Checkout Video
Amazing video of a teleoperated robot on the International Space Station; sf authors saw this a half-century ago.
(re: James Blish, 2/8/2012 ) |
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We Live In A Space Cloud
SF writers are a little more concerned about space clouds than most astronomers.
(re: Arthur Conan Doyle, 2/4/2012 ) |
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Space Habitat Has Inflatable Loft
Tested in a pretty good substitute for Mars, the moon and even asteroids, found right here in the USA.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/10/2011 ) |
Nexus S Directs SPHERES On ISS
Now that NASA has the 'seeker remotes' from Star Wars under control, how about those light sabers?
(re: George Lucas, 9/2/2011 ) |
Our Galaxy's Habitable Zone
How many habitable planets are there in the Milky Way? This paper presents interesting research in this area.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 7/15/2011 ) |
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iRing Lunar Flex-Wheel
Might these wheels also work on Earth? Lunar expeditions are somewhat chancy these days.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/4/2011 ) |
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New ESAIL Video: Deploy Tethers!
'A magsail can get you to Mars in about the same time it took the Mayflower to cross the Atlantic.'
(re: Michael Flynn, 12/12/2010 ) |
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Space Junk-Eating Pod-Craft
Some day, a solution to the problem of orbital debris will get off the ground.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 11/27/2010 ) |
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Did Arthur C. Clarke Predict GPS?
'But as for details of frequencies and powers, I'll have to leave that to the experts to work out; I'll get on with my science fiction and wait to say -I told you so!'
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 7/28/2010 ) |
Ikaros Solar Sail Works!
The first push from sunlight has been felt by Japan's Ikaros spacecraft.
(re: Jack Vance, 7/13/2010 ) |
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NASA Manned Landing On Asteroids?
Landing on asteroids could lead to mining of asteroids. There are a lot of needed materials up there.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 4/17/2010 ) |
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Warp Speed Kills
What actually happens when a spacecraft starts to approach the speed of light in interstellar space? Read one scientist's take on the subject.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 2/18/2010 ) |
Space Was A Battlefield
Battlestar Galactica publicity shot proves US was ready to go ahead with the Strategic Defense Initiative.
(re: Various, 2/13/2010 ) |
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Finding A Habitable Planet
The perfect book for those of us who would like to go 'looking for our own piece of real estate.' As RAH once said.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/29/2010 ) |
NASA's Reconfigurable Space Suit
110 years after the basic idea is described, NASA is still working out the design. Now, they're reconfigurable and plug-n-play.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 1/26/2010 ) |
WeCU Mind-Reading Scanners For Airports
Which does more of a number on your privacy - a full body scanner that leaves nothing to the imagination, or a mind-reading machine?
(re: Various, 1/23/2010 ) |
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Quicklauncher Space Cannon
Nifty idea requires $500 million funding, a drop in the bucket compared to current cost to orbit. With excellent presentation video by John Hunter.
(re: Jules Verne, 1/15/2010 ) |
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Are Black Hole Starships Possible?
Fascinating paper makes fascinating reading, particularly as an adjunct to the early fictional work done by Arthur C. Clarke.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 12/4/2009 ) |
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Is This A 'Skylight' Leading To A Lunar Cave?
Could this deep hole be an entrance to a lunar cave or lava tube? If so, it could point the way to a perfect location for permanent habitation on the Moon.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 10/25/2009 ) |
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H-II Transfer Vehicle Automated Freighter
Japan's first fully-automated space freighter is on its way to a successful mission; see lift-off photo and animated video of the full mission.
(re: Edwin K. Sloat, 9/14/2009 ) |
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Moonbell Generates Lunar Music
Very cool application lets you play unique musical compositions based on lunar topographic data. The music of the sphere.
(re: Various, 8/30/2009 ) |
Solar Sail Craft Need Laminated Mouse Brains
We're going to need the best possible navigation computers for solar sail craft that start out near the sun and attain relativistic speeds. And you know what that means.
(re: Cordwainer Smith, 8/21/2009 ) |
NASA's Spring Tire For Improved Lunar Mileage
The tires on the original Lunar Roving Vehicle were fantastic; however, plans to drive the LRVs of the future for thousands, not merely hundreds, of kilometers means we need better tires.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/5/2009 ) |
Laser Propulsion May Beam Spacecraft To Orbit
Will spacecraft and satellites ride a beam of light into space? Aerospace engineer Leik Myrabo has been working on the technology for decades.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 7/30/2009 ) |
Rocketplane For Hawaiian Spaceport?
Trips to the edge of space from the continental US are fine, but if you want the blue planet view, you'll want to take off from Hawaii.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/23/2009 ) |
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Nano-Particle Field Extraction Thruster
A nanoFET is essentially a micro-thruster; a postage stamp-sized rocket engine. Great flexibility combined with long operational life make it perfect for small devices on long missions.
(re: Murray Leinster, 7/10/2009 ) |
Mars Robot Takes Up Stargazing
Robots with time (and energy) on their hands need tasks to perform. How about spending time looking up, and not just down, at a planetary surface?
(re: Larry Niven, 6/30/2009 ) |
Lunar Ice Debate's Two NASA Probes
Space scientists are holding their collective breath to see if two moon missions scheduled for this week will result in the discovery of water ice on the Moon.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 6/17/2009 ) |
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'Try Zero-G' From JAXA Totally Unlike SciFi Movies
No wonder so many people believe that man never walked on the moon; popular tv and movie versions of space flight never show what actual weightlessness looks like in an orbiting ship.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 6/11/2009 ) |
Inflatable Space Tower Prototype Assembled
A twenty-foot prototype of an inflatable tower that could potentially reach out of the atmosphere has fans of David Brin's Sundiver interested.
(re: Davin Brin, 6/10/2009 ) |
Rotating Space Elevator
Striking concept may sound similar to sfnal technologies used by Forward and Pohl.
(re: Various, 5/26/2009 ) |
Cloud Cities: Our Green Jovian Future
Updated! It's a little bit round-a-bout, but it's possible that our green future is out there in a gas giant. Now with more science, at reader request.
(re: George Lucas, 5/15/2009 ) |
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Ballutes Studied For Hypersonic Space Vehicles
HyperCMST will simulate the use of ballutes in space missions. However, take a look at this video clip from the movie 2010 to really get a feel for ballute deployent.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 4/16/2009 ) |
COLBERT Treadmill Long SF History
Here are at least three references to early exercising strategies in space. How many can you think of - before people actually spent much time in orbit?
(re: Murray Leinster, 4/15/2009 ) |
Fall Into Black Hole Video
Two researchers create a carefully reasoned explanation of the view from within a black hole on this video. Oh, and you'll need trinocular vision as shown in this illustration.
(re: Various, 4/2/2009 ) |
Mirrors For Gravitational Waves
Can superconducting sheets reflect gravity waves? Is this causing odd results in the Gravity Probe B experiment? Can H.G. Wells shine any light on these matters?
(re: H.G. Wells, 3/24/2009 ) |
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Space Toilet Diaper From Japan
There's always something on the drawing board at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; this time, it's a very personal space toilet.
(re: David H. Keller, 1/6/2009 ) |
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Pico Satellite Swarms
These small machines will orbit the Earth sometime next year for a test run.
(re: George Lucas, 11/16/2008 ) |
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Solar Satellites Beam Back Energy
This is really a great idea, but I can only go back to 1941 for the earliest kind of reference. Anybody earlier?
(re: Clifford Simak, 10/22/2008 ) |
Exact Number Of ET Civilizations Now Known
Now that an exact number is known, we can begin construction of vast architectural works to bolster the galactic government bureaucracy.
(re: George Lucas, 10/21/2008 ) |
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IBEX Interstellar Boundary Explorer
Satellite boosted into high earth orbit looks into processes taking place in the farthest reaches of the solar system.
(re: Various, 10/12/2008 ) |
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NASA Moon Base Nuclear Reactor
It's an old idea, but it still offers a practical alternative to getting power during those long lunar nights.
(re: Various, 9/25/2008 ) |
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Moon Base Two Inflatable Lunar Habitat
Very nice drawings of an inflatable lunar base concept; but I think that Clarke's verbal description fifty years ago is better.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 7/29/2008 ) |
NanoSail-D Solar Wind-Rider
Sailing between the planets with noting but light pressure is a long-held sf dream; NASA engineers take a good shot at it this summer.
(re: Jules Verne, 6/27/2008 ) |
Inflatable Spherical Robots May Explore Mars
These robots bear an uncanny resemblance to the bouncing robotic guardians on the 1960's TV show The Prisoner. Hopefully, Martians haven't been watching the series.
(re: Various, 6/2/2008 ) |
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CAMRAS Recycles Every Breath You Take
NASA continues developing new space technology for use in the upcoming Orion crew capsule, the Altair lunar lander and lunar rovers.
(re: George O. Smith, 5/10/2008 ) |
XNAV Steer Your Way By X-Ray Pulsar
A couple of papers suggest that XNAV might provide us with solar system-wide 'GPS' - good thing sf writers were already thinking about space beacons.
(re: George O. Smith, 5/8/2008 ) |
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Sports In Space
Life in space will be incomplete with sports to play. But what sports are appropriate to space?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 4/25/2008 ) |
LIGO Gets An Upgrade
Gravitational waves have eluded scientists thus far; new, improved LIGO should be sensitive enough to detect them.
(re: Kurd Lasswitz, 4/11/2008 ) |
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Top Ten Star Trek Techs Made Real
The top ten science-fictional technologies from classic Star Trek? Sounds like something I might have done. (Actually, I did.)
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/5/2008 ) |
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Radio Telescopes On Moon's Farside
This telescope array might be the best way to answer the really big questions about the origin of the universe.
(re: Various, 2/18/2008 ) |
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Scarab Lunar Prospecting Robot
The Scarab robot provides a test-bed for all kinds of thinking about lunar prospecting.
(re: Philip K. Dick, 10/17/2007 ) |
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Air Leak Sensor For Spacecraft
This air sensor uses a new method to find air leaks in spacecraft; Heinlein, however, had a more colorful idea about sixty years earlier.
(re: Leo Zagat, 10/7/2007 ) |
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Japan's 'Space Fireworks' A Success
Japanese researchers were successful in their launch of a rocket that produced 'space fireworks' over much of Japan.
(re: Various, 9/2/2007 ) |
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Genesis 2 Successfully Inflates Module
Another successful test of the Genesis inflatable module (not to mention Larry Niven's original concept) yields a nice photo.
(re: Larry Niven, 7/1/2007 ) |
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Used Spacecraft Lot Needed On Moon
If you could just gather all the stuff, Robert Heinlein's dream of a used spacecraft lot could be realized.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/9/2007 ) |
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Urey Life Detector
The ESA's ExoMars will carry this device to Mars to search for life.
(re: Frank Herbert, 3/13/2007 ) |
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2 Lunar Base Concepts 75 Years Apart
NASA has released some of their thinking about lunar exploration; read what others thought seventy-five years earlier.
(re: Ray Cummings, 12/5/2006 ) |
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Heineken To Track Beer By Satellite
Heineken is determined to streamline their international shipping process - not to mention keep a close eye on the beer.
(re: Various, 11/3/2006 ) |
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Space Elevator Downer
Space elevators going up, or going down - read this article and its references and decide for yourself.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/26/2006 ) |
American Space Colony Art
Ah, the space colonies of my youth. They never built any, but the pictures are very nice.
(re: Jack Williamson, 5/11/2006 ) |
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Artificial Gravity Generator Now Possible?
Scientists have sneered at artificial gravity generators for the last 75 years. These ESA-sponsored experiments may have generated the first artificial gravity fields.
(re: Olaf Stapleton, 3/24/2006 ) |
Moonquake-Proof Moonbases Needed?
Okay, who's been working on the problem of making sure that lunar habitats can withstand moonquakes?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 3/16/2006 ) |
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'Antigravity' Propulsion System Proposed
Hope blooms for space enthusiasts that it might be possible to accelerate space craft to speeds approaching that of light without crushing the contents of the craft. If it works, it could be even better than apergy.
(re: Percy Greg, 2/13/2006 ) |
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Russian Moon Base Mining Camp
The Russians steal a page from Ray Cummings' Brigands of the Moon and look for rare materials on the moon.
(re: Ray Cummings, 1/28/2006 ) |
AMANDA May Find Probes To Other Dimensions
The AMANDA neutrino array team may have some positive results in the use of high-energy neutrinos in proving the existence of higher dimensions.
(re: James Blish, 1/27/2006 ) |
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Skiing That Soft Lunar Powder
Skiing on the moon? Heinlein thought you could do it, and so do the Apollo astronauts.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/17/2006 ) |
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NUGGET: NASA's New 'Tricorder'
An experimental instrument could be used to investigate important biological indicators of life - just like Star Trek's tricorder.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 8/1/2005 ) |
Doughnut-Shaped Time Machine
Exactly how to generate a gravitational doughnut is not covered in the paper, but Ori has suggestions.
(re: H.G. Wells, 7/28/2005 ) |
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Elektron Oxygen Generator Versus Martian Sawgrass
The International Space Station and the fictional Venus Equilateral Station (from a 1942 story by George O. Smith) have a problem in common - a failure of the 'air plant'.
(re: George O. Smith, 6/21/2005 ) |
NYC Heliostats And Star Wars Orbital Mirrors
Three heliostats in New York City will provide much needed light in the planned Teardrop Park South. The park likes in the shadow of three skyscrapers.
(re: Theodore Sturgeon, 6/3/2005 ) |
Micro Spacecraft To Explore Planets
NASA and The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, CA are preparing to flight test 'micro spacecraft' as early as 2006. Robert Silverberg gave a pretty good description in 1969.
(re: Robert Silverberg, 6/2/2005 ) |
Chinese 'Seed Satellite'
China will launch the first satellite designed specifically for seed-breeding in space. The project includes satellite research and development, mechanism research and simulation tests, as well as the launch and recovery of the satellite itself.
(re: Gregory Benford, 6/1/2005 ) |
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Jack Vance's Incredibly Thin Solar Sail
Jack Vance guessed the thickness of an ultralight solar sail propulsion system Alliant Techsystems and NASA have recently tested.
(re: Jack Vance, 5/21/2005 ) |
Making A Living From Space Junk
In an unusual act of generosity, the Soviet space program has been showering valuable metal scraps on the villages surrounding the Plesetsk Cosmodrome for more than forty years.
(re: George Lucas, 5/18/2005 ) |
First Asteroid Belt Found Around Star Like Our Sun
An asteroid belt may have been found surrounding a star much like our own Sun, according to Dr. Charles Beichman of CIT. His team used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to make the discovery.
(re: Niven/Pournelle, 4/21/2005 ) |
Find Extraterrestrial Civilizations By Their Works
Should we be looking for extraterrestrial civilizations, rather than just listening for them, as we do in the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project? That is the suggestion of a French astronomer, Luc Arnold
(re: Larry Niven, 4/13/2005 ) |
Reduce Global Warming By Blocking Sunlight
At a conference last year on global warming, distinguished astrophysicist and sf author Gregory Benford pointed out that the various measures proposed to stop global warming will not do the job soon enough.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 4/10/2005 ) |
Chemical Guidebook To Extraterrestrial Life Sought
Would you know extraterrestrial life if you found it? US scientists are working on a chemical guidebook to create a definitive method to determine whether extraterrestrial rocks have ever harbored life.
(re: Michael Crichton, 4/6/2005 ) |
Lunar Dust Fountains Due To Electrostatic Charges
A great article on NASA's website points out how science fiction author Hal Clement predicted in a 1956 short story that electrostatically charged lunar dust particles might actually suspend themselves above the surface:
(re: Hal Clement, 3/31/2005 ) |
Dying Stars And Planets To Live On
Astronomers and astrophysicists have long thought that the best place for life as we know it is a planet in the "habitable zone" - the range of orbits that leads to planets with liquid water - surrounding a main sequence star like our sun. Science fi
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 3/29/2005 ) |
Moon Dust Substrate For Solar Panels
Simulated moon dust has been used to make the substrate of a solar cell, according to University of Houston researchers. The fine grey powder is 50% silicon dioxide, along with a mixture of oxides of twelve different metals (including aluminum, magne
(re: John W. Campbell, 3/14/2005 ) |
Invisible Galaxy Of Dark Matter Discovered
In 2001, a group of astronomers led by Neil Trentham of the University of Cambridge predicted the existence of dark galaxies - vast collections of dark matter. Dark galaxies are thought to form when the density of matter in a galaxy is too low to cre
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 2/26/2005 ) |
Huygens Was Right - Titan Is Wet
Coming down through the clouds, the probe took pictures of what looked like river channels, beaches and islands - and landed in the mud!
(re: Various, 2/26/2005 ) |
CSS Skywalker - First Step To SF Orbital Resorts
CSS Skywalker, an orbital hotel designed by Bigelow Aerospace, will consist of a 22x45 foot inflatable space habitat that can be easily configured for its guests. In the configuration shown below, the top level is set aside as a lounge; the middle le
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/17/2005 ) |
First Star Seen Leaving Our Galaxy
Astronomers have spotted a star moving at faster than the galactic escape velocity. It is leaving our galaxy, never to return.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/9/2005 ) |
Earth To Mars In A Month With Painted Solar Sail
Gregory Benford, professor of physics at UC Irvine (and noted science fiction author) believes that a spacecraft powered by a special kind of solar sail could reach Mars in just one month.
(re: Gregory Benford, 2/9/2005 ) |
Space Rescue Technology In Fact And Fiction
NASA is preparing a backup shuttle and rescue crew in case shuttle Discovery has problems in May. Rescue flights have been become more of an issue since shuttle Columbia broke up in reentry two years ago. SF writers have been working on this since th
(re: Various, 2/1/2005 ) |
Massive Planetoids From Beyond The Solar System
New calculations reveal that large planetoids may have formed hundreds of times farther from the Sun than previously thought. Some may have been captured from other stars.
(re: George R.R. Martin, 1/25/2005 ) |
Magnetic Fields Found To Shape Planetary Nebulae
A team of German astronomers have detected magnetic fields in the central stars of four planetary nebulae. Astronomer and sf writer Fred Hoyle wrote about this fifty years ago.
(re: Fred Hoyle, 1/7/2005 ) |
Imagine The Future Of The Space Elevator
Here's your chance to help science meet fiction. The 2005 Clarke-Bradbury International Science Fiction competition has just been announced by the European Space Agency's Technology Transfer and Promotion office.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 12/14/2004 ) |
Superconducting Magnetic Bubble To Protect Astronauts From Radiation
Astronauts on long voyages through the solar system will be exposed to lethal doses of radiation from cosmic rays. Former astronaut Jeffery Hoffman has recieved funding from NASA through NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts) to research the ide
(re: Larry Niven, 12/14/2004 ) |
Terminator Tether - EDT Solution To Space Debris Update
Studies have shown that low Earth orbit is not a limitless resource and should be managed more carefully. Some sort of debris-mitigation measures are needed to solve the problem of old, unusable satellites and space junk.
(re: Various, 12/14/2004 ) |
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Genesis Inflatable Space Module Gets Go-Ahead
Bigelow Aerospace has been given payload approval for its Genesis inflatable space habitat by FAA-AST. Genesis weighs in at 1,360 kilograms and is approximately 4.6 meters in length by 1.9 meters in diameter; this is a one-third scale model.
(re: Larry Niven, 11/26/2004 ) |
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Non-Conductive Tethers - Free Artificial Gravity In Orbit
Tethers connecting satellites or space stations have some interesting effects even if they are not conductive - a non-conductive tether made of a very strong, light material like Kevlar can be used to connect two objects in orbit, one farther away fr
(re: David Brin, 11/9/2004 ) |
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Solar-Powered Interplanetary Shock Tracked To Saturn
In a dramatic proof that solar coronal mass ejection (CME) events affect even the outermost portions of the Solar System, scientists have traced an interplanetary shock from the Sun to Earth to Jupiter to Saturn.
(re: Roger Zelazny, 11/3/2004 ) |
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MagBeam Propulsion - To Mars And Back In 90 Days
Magnetized-beam plasma propulsion, or magbeam propulsion, could cut the time required for long journeys around the solar system from years to weeks.
(re: Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle, 10/16/2004 ) |
Flag Of The Solar System Created
Students and scientists at the Long Future Research Group at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, set themselves the task of creating a flag for the solar system.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 10/6/2004 ) |
Spaceflight Club For Space Enthusiasts
The Spaceflight Club has been organized by Space Adventures, a private space experiences company. The club will make sure members get the tools, experience and training they need to be ready for commercial space travel.
(re: Jules Verne, 9/26/2004 ) |
Solar Sails Unfurled Over Japan
Two different solar sail designes were unfurled from a small rocket launched from Kagoshima, Japan on August 9th.
(re: Jack Vance, 8/19/2004 ) |
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MADMEN Robot Swarm To Handle Incoming Asteroids?
SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. has completed a preliminary study for NASA in planetary defense against asteroid impactors - Modular Asteroid Deflection Mission Ejector Node (MADMEN) robots.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/20/2004 ) |
Proposal To Move An Asteroid
The B612 Foundation recently testified before a senate subcommittee regarding a "new" proposal to move an asteroid. What science fiction author proposed moving an asteroid over sixty years ago?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/17/2004 ) |
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Weightless Science Attracts Students
A team consisting of four UC Davis students studying the formation of new materials got the chance to test their theories in NASA's "Weightless Wonder" (popularly known as the "Vomit Comet").
(re: Jules Verne, 12/19/2003 ) |
Planets May Wander Alone
Astronomers at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh claim that planets can be created by the same processes that create stars.
(re: Larry Niven, 11/29/2003 ) |