Dictionary of Space Tech Terms in Science Fiction
(Technovelgy items at top: skip down to News)

Name

Author (Publication Date)

Abglanz
A mask that hides identity.

Ray Naylor (2022)
Ablative Heat (Reentry) Shield - very early reference
A single-use shield or covering designed to accept the heat of reentry and burn off.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Acceleration Chair
A specially-designed chair used to help crew stay mobile during periods of high acceleration.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Acceleration Couch
A chair designed for use in during periods of high acceleration (multiple gravities).

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Acceleration Hammock
Webbing used to cushion acceleration in spacecraft.

Henry Gade (1939)
Acceleration Shell
A special suit designed to help people survive accelerations of up to twenty-five gravities.

Joe Haldeman (1974)
Acceleration-tank - very early reference
A water-filled tank used to ease the strains of acceleration.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Adiabatic Pods - personal cold sleep
Tiny space capsules large enough to hold one passenger.

Cordwainer Smith (1960)
Air Renewal
Re-oxygenating the air within the projectile spacecraft.

Jules Verne (1867)
Air Tank Flying
Using little blasts of compressed air to fly around inside a space station.

Murray Leinster (1931)
Air-Blanket
A dome-less protective air shield.

Henry Kuttner (1938)
Airlock
An intermediate chamber between airless space and the interior of a space craft.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1928)
Airmakers
Machine to create breathable air from the constituent materials on an alien planet.

Poul Anderson (1954)
Air-o-Stat
Provides life-giving air in spacecraft.

Arthur K. Barnes (1938)
Air-Restorer Capsule
A device that re-oxygenates air in space suits.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Air-Tight Cities
Cities with breathable air constructed on worlds with no atmosphere.

Edmond Hamilton (1935)
Air-Tight Suit - air-tight dress
An special outfit that would allow a person to survive in vacuum.

Garrett P. Serviss (1898)
Airtight Tent
A temporary structure for living on an airless moon or asteroid.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1951)
Alpha Insert
A special compound used to seal punctures in space craft.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Altitude Suit
Special gear for venturing out at high altitude or even space.

John W. Campbell (1930)
Anti-Acceleration Engine For Space Suits
Counteracts the effects of high acceleration.

A.E. van Vogt (1939)
Anti-Glare Coated Glass
Special coated glass for space craft.

Neil R. Jones (1930)
Antigrav Boots
Footgear that negate gravity.

Nelson S. Bond (1941)
Antigravity - first use
A force opposed to gravity.

J.M. Walsh (1932)
Anti-Gravity Belt
A device which, when worn, reduces exposure to the effects of gravitation.

Philip Frances Nowlan (1928)
Anti-Gravity Drive
Electric force curves space.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Apergy (Apergion) - antigravity substance
An antigravity substance with sufficient power to propel a space ship from the Earth to Mars.

Percy Greg (1880)
Arctic Signal Light
A means of communicating with spacecraft from the surface of the Earth.

John Jacob Astor IV (1894)
Arteria Portal
A wormhole entrance.

Iain M Banks (2004)
Artibase
An artificial asteroid base between planets.

Philip K. Dick (1955)
Artificial Atmosphere Machine
Not just oxygen, this gives you what you need in space.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Artificial Gravity - first mention
Procuring gravitational forces without a suitably large mass.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Artificial Gravity System
Producing a gravity field without a large nearby mass.

Olaf Stapledon (1930)
Artificial Planet - before the Death Star
A very large constructed object in space.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Artificial Planet
Constructed bodies the size of planets for habitation.

Olaf Stapledon (1937)
Artificial Skin
Tight-fitting material that keeps the heat of the body from escaping into space.

Otfrid von Hanstein (1930)
Artificially Pulsating Star
A star that has been modified to pulsate with a message to the entire universe.

Eando Binder (1953)
Asbestos Sunshade
A means of shielding oneself from the sun's rays.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1940)
Asteroid Belt
The circular region of space containing many small celestial bodies.

Manly Wade Wellman (1931)
Asteroid Claim Law
The legal steps required in claiming an asteroid

Nat Schachner (1941)
Asteroid From Outside Solar System
An asteroid or similar body that comes from outside the solar system; an interstellar body.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Asteroid Homesteaders' School
An institution of learning where regular folks learned how to start a farm on an asteroid.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1951)
Asteroid Lanes
Regular routes traversed by asteroids.

Nat Schachner (1941)
Asteroid Mine - ore from space
The practice of seeking out and mining asteroids for their ore.

Emmett McDowell (1946)
Asteroid Mining
The mining of asteroid ore, accomplished by traveling to these tiny bodies.

Garrett P. Serviss (1898)
Asteroid Mining (Blasting)
Setting charges on an asteroid.

Clifford Simak (1932)
Asteroid Nets
Capturing small asteroids or fragments using rocket nets.

V.E. Thiessen (1947)
Asteroid Prison
A jail is the sole occupant of an asteroid.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Asteroid Rocket
An engine attached to an asteroid to drive it through space.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Asteroid Space Flyer
Specialized one-man craft for exploring asteroids.

Neil R. Jones (1930)
Asteroids From Outside Solar System
Small bodies from beyond the solar system are captured by major planets.

Clifford Simak (1944)
Robert Heinlein (1941)
Astrogator
A person who acts as navigator for s space ship.

David Lasser (1931)
Astronaut
A person who travels in space.

Neil R. Jones (1930)
Astronaut (Ship)
The first instance of this phrase, it denotes a space-going vessel.

Percy Greg (1880)
Astronaut Sleep
The idea that there is a benefit to putting astronauts to sleep during space travel.

Johannes Kepler (1634)
Astroposit
Retro-style system provides a readout on your position anywhere in the galaxy.

Christopher Anvil (1961)
Asymptotic Drive
A propulsion drive that used a tiny black hole to generate energy.

Arthur C. Clarke (1976)
Atmosphere Tester
A device used to test the composition of a sample of the atmosphere on another planet, to see if it is breathable by humans.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Atmospheric Braking
Using a planet's atmosphere to gradually decelerate a spacecraft.

Robert Heinlein (1948)
Attraction Ray
In effect, a tractor beam.

Nat Schachner (1932)
Attractive Ray - first use of idea?
A beam of radiation that pulls.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Audiphone
Communication between space suits in the airless void of space.

Ray Cummings (1936)
Auto Shovel
Automated mining equipment for use in space.

Philip K. Dick (1964)
Automated Search For Habitable Planets
Automated use of telescopes and other devices to search the universe for Earth-like planets.

Edmond Hamilton (1936)
Automated Space Factories
Manufacturing based in space.

William Gibson (1988)
Automatic Navigator
Device steers your spaceship to its destination without additional effort from you.

Harry Bates (1934)
Automatic Ticket Machine - your ticket to the stars
Get your ticket to Trantor automatically.

Isaac Asimov (1953)
Ball and Hammer Ship
Spaceship comprised of two sections connected by a shaft.

Gordon R. Dickson (1960)
Barrels of Air
A very early mention of a means for breathing once above the Earth's atmosphere.

Jane Webb Loudon (1828)
Bats' Cave
A natural cavern used by moon colonists for air storage - and entertainment.

Robert Heinlein (1957)
Beam-Powered Propulsion
Using a powerful energy source as motive power for a projectile.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Beanstalk
Clever name for the space elevator.

Robert Heinlein (1982)
Beeper
A handheld radar set, used to find items that have drifted off.

Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
Belt Automatic-Equalizers
The wearer's experience of gravity will be just like Earth's.

Edmond Hamilton (1933)
Bergenholm Drive
A device that renders a spaceship free of inertia.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Big Push - miles long slingshot
A linear accelerator built on a long track; a mass driver.

Larry Niven (1985)
Blast-Off - light the candle
The act of firing a rocket into space.

Leo Zagat (1937)
Bone-Building Compounds
Combat heavy gravity on other planets by building greater bone density in workers and colonists.

Edmond Hamilton (1932)
Braking Disks
Used when the ship is falling through a planetary atmosphere.

Max Valier (1931)
Breathing Dresses
A special suit and apparatus for survival on the surface of the Moon.

George Griffith (1901)
Brick Moon - first space station
An artificial satellite or space station with living quarters for passengers.

Edward Everett Hale (1869)
Bubbleworld
A rigid space station that is shaped like a cylinder, rotated to achieve centripetal gravity.

Larry Niven (1966)
Bug
A compact vehicle for planetary surfaces - like Mercury.

Alan E. Nourse (1956)
Build A Planet With Asteroids
The idea that it is possible to gather up enough of the asteroids in the solar system to "build" a planet out of the scraps.

Richard Wilson (1958)
Building With Lunar Materials
Using a planet's materials to make what you need.

John W. Campbell (1950)
Burn the Ship
Utilize parts of the ship as fuel for forward movement.

Jules Verne (1868)
Bussard Ramjet - hydrogen ramscoop
Propulsion method that scoops hydrogen atoms from space via electromagnetic fields.

Larry Niven (1976)
Cavorite - antigravity metal
An antigravity metal; when it cools, whatever it covers will be impervious to gravitational forces.

H.G. Wells (1901)
Central City (Lunar Habitat)
An early example of a non-military lunar habitat.

Arthur C. Clarke (1955)
Central Guide-Beam
A kind of signal that demonstrates the best possible path to a destination in space and even provides motive power.

Philip K. Dick (1954)
Centrifuge Room
A small room on a planetoid that is spun to create artificial gravity.

John Varley (1977)
Chardion Field
Electronic 'envelope' that retained atmosphere on tiny worldlets.

Jack Williamson (1941)
Chart Cabinet
Used in astrogation, this device can see the positions of stars and planets over a thousand year period.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Charted Planetoid Mines
Charting the planetoids and minor bodies for mining purposes.

Nelson S. Bond (1941)
Chin Plates - hands-free controls
A means of control within a space suit helmet; switching between options with the chin.

Robert Heinlein (1958)
Chin Window
An aperture that allows an astronaut to see his own feet (greater field of view).

Robert Heinlein (1958)
Chowlock
A small opening in a space helmet for food insertion.

Poul Anderson (1965)
Cider Press - acceleration made bearable
Device used to make acceleration above 1 gravity more tolerable for groundhogs.

Robert Heinlein (1956)
City of Space - rotating habitat
A very early reference to an enormous cylindrical space station.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Cloaking Device - invisibility for your whole ship
A force field that renders an object invisible to human eyes as well as other sensor devices.

Paul Schneider (1966)
Coal Mole
Robotic device for asteroid mining chews through the interior, preparing raw materials for use

Charles Sheffield (1979)
Collapsar Jump
Travel between collapsed stars in no time at all.

Joe Haldeman (1974)
Colony World
A planet settled by a single group.

Eando Binder (1939)
Columbiad - 900 foot cannon
An enormous cannon, sufficient in size to send a projectile to the Moon.

Jules Verne (1867)
Concentrated Cosmic Radiation
Passing through a region of intense radiation alters lifeforms.

Edmond Hamilton (1942)
Confinement Asteroid
A place where asteroid miner's babies stay to experience some needed gravity.

Larry Niven (1966)
Consolidator
A craft for embarking on voyages through space.

Daniel Defoe (1705)
Contragravity Suit
A suit with antigravity.

H. Beam Piper (1952)
Cosmic Storm
A vast tempest in space!

Jack Williamson (1939)
Cosmoline (Warm Sleep)
Special gel that offers healing and hibernation for space travelers.

Greg Bear (2014)
Cosmoquake
Gravity waves ripple across the solar system.

Murray Leinster (1945)
Crash Web
A simple mechanical linkage to activate a crash field.

Larry Niven (1994)
Cryocapsule
A spaceship capsule that contains astronauts in special coffins, in suspended animation.

Alfred Bester (1974)
Cryonaut
An astronaut placed in cryonic sleep.

Alfred Bester (1974)
Crystal Cylinder Ship
A transparent space ship in the shape of a cylinder.

Edwin K. Sloat (1933)
Cyclotronic Ore-Hurler
Using the magnetic properties of an asteroid to send ore hurling across space!

D.L. James (1940)
Cylinder Space Suit
A mostly rigid, cylindrical space suit.

Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
Darkened Glass Face Plate
The use of darkened glass on the face plate of a space suit helmet to protect the wearer from solar radiation.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1940)
Deceleration Chambers
Stressed, the ship breaks apart into parts that may survive.

A.E. van Vogt (1943)
Bruce Sterling (1985)
Deep-Space - my dwelling place
Typically refers to the vast empty regions of interstellar space.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Deflector Shield
A energy field used to shunt the energy of offensive weapons aside.

George Lucas (1976)
Delayed Action Stereoscopic Principle
Distinguishing far off space craft by relative speed against the fixed stars.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Deviatoscope
A device that registered how much your course diverged from what you intended.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Diamagnetic Levitation
Levitation accomplished using magnetic field's interference with the motion of electrons orbiting the atoms or molecules of a material.

Isaac Asimov (1962)
Dimension
Describes a reality separate from our own.

H.G. Wells (1896)
Dimension Shifting Apparatus
Achieves faster than light space travel by moving into a different, parallel dimension.

Edmond Hamilton (1936)
Dirigible Space Armor (Working Space Suits)
Heavy-duty space suits for mining work on asteroids.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Dirtside
The surface of a planet.

Robert Heinlein (1953)
Docking-Cradle
Holds a space craft in gravity.

Fritz Leiber (1941)
Dome Shelter - first reference
A permanent domed structure for living on the Moon.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Double-Door Vestibule
A special doorway leading from the interior of a spacecraft leading out into space which maintains the air pressure within the craft.

John Jacob Astor IV (1894)
Dragonfly Sky-Bike
An ultralight human-powered flyer.

Arthur C. Clarke (1972)
Drop-Capsule
Minimal spaceship.

Robert Silverberg (1969)
Dropshaft
An elevator shaft with no elevator - the "lift" is from gravity or suppressed inertia.

Harlan Ellison (1957)
Dust-Cruiser
Specialized lunar transport able to negotiate dust-filled craters on the Moon.

Arthur C. Clarke (1961)
Dust-Ski - ski-doo for lunar powder
Special vehicle adapted for quick travel over powdered lunar soil.

Arthur C. Clarke (1961)
Earth Normal
Using the earth standard.

Jack Williamson (1932)
Earther
A person born on planet Earth.

Jack Vance (1950)
Earthport
A massive spaceport that reared up from the surface of the earth to the edge of the atmosphere.

Cordwainer Smith (1950)
Electelscope
Telescope uses electronics applied to optics.

Leo Zagat (1937)
Electric Kitchen - cooks freed from gravity
Food preparation in space requires safe equipment.

Otto Willi Gail (1929)
Electrical 'Tether'
A device to make sure an astronaut could return from a free space walk.

Garrett P. Serviss (1898)
Electro-Magnet Anchor
Attach a line to a spacecraft hull.

Edwin K. Sloat (1932)
Electromagnetic Cannon
A set of devices on the Ringworld used to land spacecraft safely on the fast-moving rim.

Larry Niven (1970)
Electronized Gravity Plate - artificial gravity
Artificial gravity for use on space stations and spacecraft.

Ray Cummings (1936)
Electrono-Mirror
Focuses the sun's rays on a planetary surface for terraforming purposes.

Nelson S. Bond (1941)
Electro-Telescope
A device that could clearly image space battles and space ships, even from a great distance.

Maurice G. Hugi (1934)
Emergency Air-Suit
A light-duty space suit.

Ray Cummings (1938)
Emergency Corrective Rockets
Used when you seem to be off-course in your spaceship.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Emergency Lifeboat - very early space rescue vehicle
A small craft used as a bail-out vehicle from a large space station or spacecraft.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Emergency Repulsion (Repulsive Ray)
A beam of force that repels one object from another.

Ray Cummings (1936)
Emergency Repulsion Ray
A handheld means of propulsion in space.

Gabriel Wilson (1936)
Emergency Shelter
A small cubicle that provides a last refuge in case the spacecraft's atmosphere is lost.

Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
Emergency Space-Boat
An escape ship.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1932)
Emergency Space-Suit
A compacted space-suit stored for emergency use.

Nat Schachner (1932)
Escalladder - a ladder you can ride
A ladder that you don't have to climb to get to the top.

Larry Niven (1994)
Escape Pod
A small automated ship attached to a larger ship or station, used in the event of an emergency.

Michael Shaara (1954)
Escape Port
Emergency egress from a space ship for one person.

Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr. (1940)
Escapecraft
A small spacecraft used when abandoning the main ship.

Murray Leinster (1945)
E-Suit (Environmental Suit)
A forcefield that encloses air and heat around the body, but does not repel objects or radiation.

Jack McDevitt (2002)
Ether Boat
A space craft.

Eando Binder (1933)
Ether Eddy
A shimmering region of space marking a break-through into another universe.

Leo Zagat (1937)
Etheric Propulsion-Vibrations
Faster-than-light travel.

Edmond Hamilton (1933)
Etheric Typhoon
The idea that space itself can have disturbances.

Malcolm Jameson (1939)
Etherometer - check the ether for gravity waves
A device that looked at the 'ether' pervading space as a means of determining gravitation field strength.

Frank Belknap Long, Jr. (1937)
Etheroneph
Spacefraft fueled by radioactive materials.

Aleksandr Bogdanov (1908)
Ether-Wall - an invisibility field.
An invisibility field.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Exodus Ship
A generation ship to save a culture from extinction.

Judson W. Reeves (1930)
Extradimensional - out of here
From another dimension.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Extraecliptic Travel Lanes
Organized interplanetary travel using routes not confined to the ecliptic.

Malcolm Jameson (1939)
Face-Plate
The transparent front of a space suit helmet.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1930)
Farside
The portion of the Moon's surface that faces away from Earth.

Poul Anderson (1958)
Faster-Than-Light - ftl
Describes something that exceeds the usual speed limit on physical objects of 186,282 miles per second in vacuum.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Filling Station Moon
The idea that Man could first go to the Moon to obtain fuel or propellant.

Max Valier (1931)
Finely Divided Dust Propellant
Reaction mass to drive spacecraft.

Arthur C. Clarke (1955)
Fire Storm
When clouds of antimatter dust encountered ordinary matter spaceships.

Jack Williamson (1942)
First Contact
The initial encounter with a non-human race.

Murray Leinster (1935)
Flash Suit - laser game suit
Special suit for practice battles.

Orson Scott Card (1985)
Flexible Sprung Boots
Boots designed to be flexible when walking, but upon a hard step, will have a spring characteristic.

James P. Hogan (1977)
Flicker Drive - in between beats
A space ship drive that allows instantaneous travel across the galaxy.

Russell Hoban (1996)
Flip to Brake
Maneuver to put the tail end (with rocket output) in the forward direction of travel to use for lowering velocity.

Eando Binder (1933)
Flitterboat
A one-man cargo space craft.

Gordon Randall Garrett (1961)
Floating Lunar Dust
Electrostatically charged particles that float above the surface of the Moon.

Hal Clement (1956)
Flywheel Launcher
Gigantic flywheels that build up enough power to launch a spacecraft - hurl it into the heavens!

Edward Everett Hale (1869)
Foot Loops
Hold yourself down in zero gravity situations with this low-tech device.

Murray Leinster (1931)
Force-Field - an energy barrier
A barrier to objects, created by projected forces.

George Paul Bauer (1930)
Free Fall
Phrase describing how bodies move in orbit.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Free Return Trajectory - first mention
The idea that it would be possible for a projectile to go around the Moon and then return to Earth.

Jules Verne (1867)
Freeside Orbital Resort
A resort that orbits the Earth.

William Gibson (1984)
Freezebox
A chamber for long term sleep between the stars.

Cordwainer Smith (1962)
FTL
Abbreviation for "faster than light".

Fritz Leiber (1950)
Fur Pressure-Suit
A warm pressurized suit for use in the airless void of space.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1928)
Fusion Sunlight Tube
Central light source for a spun cylinder space station.

Larry Niven (1966)
Galactic Damping Field
A vast field of force emanating from the center of the galaxy.

Poul Anderson (1953)
Galactography
Geography on a galactic scale.

Isaac Asimov (1953)
Gansas
Migratory birds that fly all the way to the Moone.

Francis Godwin (1638)
Garbage Screen - chaff in space
Use of bits of metal to confuse radar targeting of space stations.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Gas Giant - coined a phrase
Large planet consisting primarily of gas with a solid core.

James Blish (1952)
Gate
A opening through spacetime to other worlds.

Hal K. Wells (1931)
Gee
Using the standard letter designation in physics for gravity.

Margaret St. Clair (1949)
Gee Bath - waterbeds for space craft
Essentially a waterbed designed to help older or untrained people cope with high acceleration aboard spacecraft.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Generation Ship
A spacecraft that carries a complete social group over many years.

E.C. Tubb (1955)
Geodesic Inflexors
Propulsion provided not by pushing against matter, but against spacetime.

Jack Williamson (1941)
Geodynes - pushing against the fabric of space
Spacecraft propulsion that pushes against the very fabric of space itself.

Jack Williamson (1936)
Geopeller
An atomic powered, miniaturized means of propulsion.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Globular Glass Helmet
A bowl-shaped space helmet.

Eando Binder (1933)
Gold-Fish-Bowl World
An artificial water planet.

Olaf Stapledon (1937)
Granton Motor
Spacecraft propulsion system based on gravital radiation.

Frank K. Kelly (1933)
Grapple-Ray
A version of the tractor beam idea.

D.L. James (1940)
Gravanol - good at high accelerations
A medicine or supplement that helps astronauts deal better with high accelerations.

George O. Smith (1942)
Gravital Unit
Device that maintains Earth-comparable gravity on an asteroid.

W.F. Wallace (1952)
Gravitation Paralysis
Dread illness of space travelers striking when changing from very weak to very strong gravities.

Edmond Hamilton (1942)
Gravitation Screen
Shields a spacecraft from the gravity of a planetary body.

Harry Gore Bishop (1907)
Gravitational Disks
Maintain your footing on those low-gravity celestial bodies.

Jack West (1940)
Gravitational Wave Viewer - catch the wave
A device used to see at astronomical distances.

Kurd Lasswitz (1897)
Gravitic
Relating to gravity.

Malcolm Jameson (1939)
Gravitic Generator
A device that produces an artificial gravity field.

George O. Smith (1947)
Gravitics
The science of using gravity as a technology.

Malcolm Jameson (1944)
Gravito-Statoscope
An instrument used to detect the gravitational influences on a space ship.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Gravity Assist - very early use
Using the gravity and orbital speed of a celestial body to change speed and course of a spacecraft.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Gravity Belt
Adds 'weight' for walking on asteroids.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Gravity Centrifuge
Used in low gravity environments to build up muscle for visits to Earth, or other high gravity worlds.

Robert Heinlein (1948)
Gravity Detector
A device capable of detecting the gravitational field of a distant mass.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1931)
Gravity Drive
A spaceship propulsion method that uses gravity or gravity waves.

Poul Anderson (1950)
Gravity Neutralizers
The force of gravity is suspended!

B.X. Barry (1931)
Gravity Planer
Device that creates a gravity field.

Larry Niven (1966)
Gravity Port
Used for refueling.

Frank Belknap Long, Jr. (1946)
Gravity Well
If you visualize spacetime as a flat, elastic plane, a planet will deform it, and it sits at the bottom of its own hole.

Poul Anderson (1957)
Gravity-Plates
Reliable, controllable gravity force.

Anthony Gilmore (1932)
Gravity-Screen
A device that shields an object from the effects of gravity.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Gravity-Simulator Harness - maintain muscle and bone in space
Device that simulates gravity's effect on muscles to keep in shape while in space.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Gravograph
A graphical representation of gravitational fields.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
Green Guk
Algae that produces essential oxygen as a byproduct.

Fritz Leiber (1961)
Grip Shoes - velcro space gear
Shoes with velcro soles used to walk in weightless environments.

Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
Groundhog
Not a space professional.

Robert Heinlein (1942)
Groundling
A person who does not fly, especially into space.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Ground-to-Orbit Ferry
A kind of space shuttle craft.

Robert Heinlein (1966)
Gyrocosmically Stabilized Interplanetary Rocket
A mouthful, perfect for trips to the larger asteroids.

Philip Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) (1929)
Gyroscope Seats
Your best bet for remaining at the right angle to the force of acceleration.

John W. Campbell (1930)
Habitable Exoplanet Moon
An Earthlike moon that orbits a gas giant.

George Lucas (1976)
Hand Grip
Means of pulling oneself through a space ship at zero gravity.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Hand-Jetting
Making use of hand-held rockets or other reaction devices to move through space.

Malcolm Jameson (1939)
Hand-Rocket
A handheld device that used reaction matter to aid explorers in space suits to move around easily in zero gee.

Edmond Hamilton (1938)
Harvesting Saturn's Rings
Mining the rings for industrial purposes.

Alfred Bester (1974)
Heat Generating Magnetic Disks - red giants at work
Devices used to artificially raise the temperature of the surface of moons to a reasonable level.

Frank Belknap Long, Jr. (1937)
Helix Gun
A device for capturing ferrous meteors.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Hide in the Asteroids
Match speed with the asteroids and become undetectable.

Murray Leinster (1944)
High Orbit Archipelago
The habitable spaces in high earth orbit.

William Gibson (1988)
Hinged Mittens (for Space Suit)
Space worthy mittens for space suits.

Anthony Gilmore (1932)
Hollow Asteroid
An asteroid that has been hollowed out for use as a space habitat.

Joseph Farrell (1944)
Home Planet
Usually the birthplace of your species or simply your planet of origin.

George Parsons Lathrop (1897)
Homeworld (Home-World)
One's planet of origin.

George Griffith (1901)
Hybrid Mass Driver - moon bound
A device for launching space craft on the first stage of a journey to space.

Robert Heinlein (1950)
Hydroponics in Space
Growing plants for food without soil on a spacecraft.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Hyper-space
A realm or parallel universe in which it is possible to travel much faster than light.

Kirk Meadowcroft (1928)
Hyperspace Beacon - find your way between the stars
Located in real space, these devices provide reference points in hyperspace to make navigation possible.

Harry Harrison (1959)
Identification Beacon
Radio pulse to identify orbiting craft.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Igloo Inflatable Moon Habitat - inflate and use
An inflatable, portable lunar shelter that can be easily moved and set up.

Arthur C. Clarke (1961)
Igloo-Shaped Space Shelter
Easy to set up on airless asteroids.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Imp Personal Robot
A small 'subtree' robot that is designed for the personal use of astronauts.

Robert Forward (1985)
Impactor Determines Composition
The use of an impactor to smash into a small celestial body; watching the impact can determine the composition of the small body.

E.C. Tubb (1958)
Imperial Handicraft Globe
Perfectly crafted globe for planetary governors.

Frank Herbert (1965)
Indoor Weighted Belt
Device to stay grounded in low gravity on the Moon.

Ray Cummings (1936)
Inertia Screen - next up, right angle turns
A device that canceled out the law of inertia to help decelerating space craft occupants.

John Berryman (1939)
Inertialess Drive
Faster-than-light travel achieved!

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Infinite Improbability Drive - what are the odds it exists?
Generates a field in which anything, no mater how improbable, can exist.

Douglas Adams (1979)
Inflatable Air Lock - very early reference
Air lock making use of inflatable side walls to achieve large size.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Inflatable Expansion Bubble - temporary room for space craft
Inflatable chamber to provide temporary additional space for cramped space craft.

Larry Niven (1994)
Inflatable Living-Globe
An inflatable bubble in space, suitable for human habitation.

Fritz Leiber (1961)
Inflatable Lunar Resort
An inflatable structure on the moon, intended to provide rest and relaxation to lunar residents.

Philip K. Dick (1955)
Inflatable Roofed Valley - early inflatable reference
A habitat on an asteroid created by placing a tent-like roof over a natural valley or depression, and then inflating it.

Robert Heinlein (1939)
Insosuit
A space suit specially designed to resist extreme heat.

Isaac Asimov (1942)
Intergalactic
Going between galaxies.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Interplanetary Radiograph Station
Network of communication in the solar system.

Harry Gore Bishop (1907)
Interplanetary-Liner
A vast passenger ship in space.

Jim Vanny (1930)
Interstellar Express Car
Uses anti-gravitation metal to achieve terrific speeds in space.

George Parsons Lathrop (1897)
Inter-Universal Messenger
A device intended to travel to another dimension.

James Blish (1957)
Invasion Gate For Aliens
Using alien instructions to create a gate for alien invasion.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
Invisibility Magnets
They can cloak a space ship by bending light around it.

Nat Schachner (1934)
Ion Drive
A space drive that emits a stream of ions as reaction mass; it starts out slow but builds up to interstellar speeds.

Jack Williamson (1947)
Iron Fingers
Special metal manipulators set on the hull of a space craft, and manipulated from the inside.

Neil R. Jones (1930)
Iron Inlay Plates
Works perfectly with an electromagnetic table to maintain place settings.

Max Valier (1931)
Javelin
A spacer who modified herself to more easily live in space.

John Varley (1977)
Jump
Instantaneous movement over vast distances, points many light-years apart.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Jump Drive
A means of propulsion used on spacecraft that allows a ship to travel from point to distant point without actually needing to traverse the space in between.

Harry Harrison (1963)
Jump Point
A specific location in space where an interstellar jump can be accomplished.

Christopher Anvil (1964)
Jump Through Hyperspace - is travel through hyperspace possible?
Device that makes faster-than-light travel possible.

Isaac Asimov (1951)
Jump-Along
Computer used for calculating jumps between stars.

Rose Sharon (1957)
Jumpship
A spaceship capable of making interstellar jumps, that is, it could move over vast distances instantaneously.

Rose Sharon (1957)
Jupiter Mining Shoes
Specialized footgear for walking on the Great Red Spot.

Frank Belknap Long, Jr. (1936)
Kemplerer (Klemperer) Rosette - planets without a sun
Planets without a sun; they orbit a central point.

Larry Niven (1970)
Laboratory Planet
A toy planet created in a laboratory; a fully functional world in miniature.

Jack Williamson (1932)
Lado-Acheson System
A device for "pumping in" sunlight into an enclosed space habitat.

William Gibson (1984)
Landing on an Asteroid
An elaborate flight plan for landing a space ship on an asteroid.

Eando Binder (1933)
Landing on the Moon
Men from the earth land on the Moon.

Johannes Kepler (1634)
Landing Pit (Drydock and Construction)
A cylindrical hole with anti-gravity screens for use in spacecraft landings and repair.

Alfred Bester (1956)
Landing Stage
Parking spot for space craft.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1931)
Landing-Cradle
A supporting structure for a space craft landing on a planetary surface.

Frank K. Kelly (1932)
Landing-Grid
A constructed landing area on a planetary surface for space craft.

Murray Leinster (1955)
Langston Field - energy shield
A protective energy shield.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Laser Cannon - ground-based power for space craft
A laser source powerful enough to provide significant light pressure to a "light sail."

Larry Niven (1966)
Launch Shock
Astronauts need protection from the shock of being launched into space.

Johannes Kepler (1634)
Launching Cradle
A place for a spherical space craft to sit in gravity.

Gordon Randall Garrett (1957)
Launching Facility - in Florida
A specific spot with support for a space launch.

Jules Verne (1867)
Launching Laser - power your craft with light
A set of very high-powered lasers used to power spacecraft.

Larry Niven (1971)
Leak Disk
Simple device to temporarily close a leak in a spacecraft.

Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
Levitator Pack
Handy anti-gravity when you need it.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1942)
Life Tubes
Escape pods for space ships.

Jim Vanny (1930)
Light Beam Propulsion (Light-Ship)
Use of brilliant light as motive power for a space ship.

Frank K. Kelly (1932)
Light Pressure Propulsion - first use of this idea
First mention of the idea that light itself could be a form of propulsion for spacecraft.

Jules Verne (1867)
Light Speed
Using the speed of light at a unit of velocity.

Clyde Wilson (1931)
Light Traps (Dyson Sphere)
Surrounding a sun, a set of devices to capture or focus solar power.

Olaf Stapledon (1937)
Light-Absorbing Paint
Space stealth!

Arthur C. Clarke (1955)
Light-Sail Ship
A spacecraft that used a huge sail moved by light pressure.

Cordwainer Smith (1962)
Lightweight Vacuum Armor
A simplified space suit, used where conditions were similar to Earth rather than in the more rigorous conditions of space.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1938)
Liquid Mirror Telescope on Mars - alien LMT
A large telescope using a spinning bowl of mercury as the mirror.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1934)
Luminous Stake-Markers
Illuminated pole designating a staked claim on the surface of a planet, moon or asteroid.

Frank K. Kelly (1932)
Lunar Greenhouse Tunnel
A multipurpose conservatory on the Moon.

Robert Heinlein (1966)
Lunar Mining - moon mining camp
Very early (first?) reference to mining operations on the moon.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Lunar Monorail
A monorail constructed above the surface of the Moon.

Arthur C. Clarke (1955)
Lunar Tunnel (Human Pendulum)
A tunnel through the center of the moon, and the man who fell through it.

D.D. Sharp (1933)
Lunar Used Spacecraft Lot - low (gravity) prices
A sales lot for used spacecraft

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Lunar Web
The moon ensnared by cobwebs.

Brian Aldiss (1962)
Lunocycle (Lunar Bicycle) - better than Bessie the mule
A bicycle specially adapted for lunar travel.

Robert Heinlein (1952)
Lyle Drive
Propulsion system for use inside the solar system.

Robert Heinlein (1961)
Magneslippers
Shoes that adhere to metal space ship floors, useful in null gravity situations.

W.F. Wallace (1952)
Magnet Grapnel
Used to pull another vessel closer when boarding in space.

Edwin K. Sloat (1932)
Magnetic Anchor
A means of affixing an anchor point on a spacecraft hull.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Magnetic Boots
Special footgear holds spacemen to the metal deck in spite of the lack of gravity.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1931)
Magnetic Clamps
Used for attaching your craft to a larger spaceship.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Magnetic Control of Nebulae - by alien beings
Controlling the structure and shape of nebulae using magnetic fields.

Fred Hoyle (1957)
Magnetic Sandals - stick around
Special footgear to walk in zero-gee spacecraft.

Jack Williamson (1941)
Magnetic Shoes
Footgear magnetized for working on steel hulls.

Henri Dahl Juve (1929)
Magnetic Soles
Magnetized footwear for easy walking on low gravity metal surfaces.

Gordon Randall Garrett (1961)
Magnetic-Soled Shoes - required for space walks
A means of walking on a surface in zero gravity.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Magnetized Boots - made for walking
Special shoes to allow walking in and around a metal ship with no artificial gravity.

Manly Wade Wellman (1941)
Magno-Bars
Electromagnet-tipped rods used by meteor miners to capture iron-rich asteroids in space.

L.A. Eshbach (1935)
Magsail
An interplanetary craft that uses magnetic fields to catch the solar winds for propulsion.

Michael Flynn (1998)
Manshell
A spaceship large enough for just one man; also an escape pod.

Leo Zagat (1943)
Manufactured Planet
Is that a moon - or a space station?

Harley S. Aldinger (1932)
Mass Detector (Gravitator)
A device that finds substantial masses, particularly in the path of a space craft.

Clyde Wilson (1938)
Mass Pointer
Tells you where the really large (star-sized) masses are while you travel in hyperspace.

Larry Niven (1994)
Mass-Driver Catapult - mass driver for the Moon
An escape-speed induction catapult to launch material into orbit.

Robert Heinlein (1966)
Medical Use for Weightlessness
Early reference to the idea of using a weightless environment for medical purposes.

W.F. Wallace (1952)
Membrane Balloon Helmet
A selectively permeable membrane worn as a helmet.

Larry Niven (1969)
Metal Solvent Ray Thrower - also a reaction pistol
Acts like a flame thrower in space.

Manly Wade Wellman (1941)
Meteor Blasters - clear the spaceways
Energy beams that would destroy space debris or rocks that lay in the path of a spacecraft.

Murray Leinster (1945)
Meteor Hulls Ship
A small meteor tears all the way through a ship

Isaac R. Nathanson (1931)
Meteor Miner
Someone who roams the solar system, hunting for metal in meteors.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Meteor Particles (Sand Blast)
Tiny sand-sized asteroids sand-blasting the hull of a spacecraft.

Clifton B. Kruse (1936)
Meteor Swarm Mining
A fleet of ships hunting for meteoric iron - in space!

L.A. Eshbach (1935)
Meteor Warning System - incoming meteor swarm detected
A system that provided rockets in flight with early warning of meteors.

Edmond Hamilton (1932)
Meteoric Dust Cloud
A vast cloud in space, through which the solar system moved for a decade.

John Russell Fearn (1939)
Meteorometer - meteors ahead!
A device that warned space ships in flight about oncoming meteors.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Meteorscope
A device that probes ahead in space detecting swarms of deadly meteors.

Edmond Hamilton (1942)
Meteor-Spotting Radar
A device to warn spacecraft of oncoming meteors.

George O. Smith (1943)
Meteor-Sweeps
Maneuver to chase down and destroy meteor showers that threaten celestial navigation.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Micro-Telescope
An astronomical instrument for looking at objects in a miniature universe.

Edmond Hamilton (1935)
Momentum Screen
Allows a spacemen to avoid the problem of "high gee" forces on take-off.

Theodore Sturgeon (1941)
Moon As Prison
The moon is a prison without bars.

Robert Heinlein (1966)
Moon Hopper
A jet-powered single-person vehicle for the Moon.

Raymond F. Jones (1973)
Moon Run
An accurate representation of running on the moon.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Moon Skis - ah the lunar powder
Special wide skis for travel on lunar powder.

Robert Heinlein (1940)
Moon Valley Breathable Atmosphere
Atmosphere is retained in a deep valley on a moon or otherwise airless body.

Dom Passante (1939)
Moon Walk - presages Apollo
Very early realistic depiction of walking on the moon in low gravity.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Moon Weaponized
A military application of moons, planetoids and asteroids; dropping them from space.

Philip Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) (1929)
Moonbase (or Moon Base) - first reference
A base of operations on Earth's moon.

L. Ron Hubbard (1948)
Moon-Dome
A transparent hemisphere used as a habitat.

Eric Frank Russell (1952)
Moonquake-Proof Habitats - thanks to Robert Heinlein
Moonbases that are built to withstand quakes on the Moon.

Robert Heinlein (1948)
Move an Asteroid
Using practical techniques to change the orbit of an asteroid or small moon.

Robert Heinlein (1939)
Moving a Planet - early use of idea
Early use of the concept of moving a planet to a new sun.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Mudshoes
Footgear specialized for the semisolid soil of Venus

Stanley G. Weinbaum (1935)
Multi-Generation Space Vessel (Generation Ship)
A space ship and voyage intended to last across multiple human generations.

Nat Schachner (1936)
Multiverse
A set or series of universes in parallel with our own.

Michael Moorcock (1963)
Near-Space Solar Energy Collectors
Generating power from solar radiation closer to the source.

Olaf Stapledon (1937)
Needles (Chocolate and Vanilla)
Inflated towers reaching 20 miles out of Earth's atmosphere.

David Brin (1979)
Negative Acceleration
Turning a torchship through a half-circle, thereby applying force in the direction of motion, slowing the ship down.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1928)
Negative Gravity Field
Antigravity effect produced for space ship propulsion.

A.G. Stangland (1932)
Negative Matter Space Drive
A reactionless space drive using negative matter.

Robert Forward (1992)
Negative Safety-Field
A paragravity-based shield for space craft.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Terry Bisson (1994)
Neutral (Point)
The point at which the gravitational pull of the sun and that of a planet cancel each other out.

Harry Gore Bishop (1907)
Neutronium Slippers
Special footgear to keep ones footing in lower gravities.

Edmond Hamilton (1940)
New Moon Casino Satellite
An enormous artificial moon, it was far easier to get to than the Old Moon.

Jack Williamson (1939)
New Suns From Old
Creating new stars by crashing together the cinders of dead stars.

Edmond Hamilton (1935)
Normal Space
As opposed to hyperspace.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Nose Tubes
Rocket blasts from the front of a ship, to brake it.

Leo Zagat (1937)
Null-Suit
A device that projects a field of force that acts like a space suit.

John Varley (1977)
Observation Room Recreation Center
A vast internal space in a space station, often used for exercise and amusement.

Murray Leinster (1931)
Off-Planet
Away from a planet, towards another or into space.

H. Beam Piper (1952)
Off-World
Not of Earth.

C.L. Moore (1943)
One-Man Rocket
A small rocket ship with only a pilot.

Edmond Hamilton (1930)
Operation Cleanup - remove orbital debris the brute force way
The program that removed space debris in LEO that could harm the space elevator.

Arthur C. Clarke (1978)
Orbital Mirror - sunlight when you want it
A huge reflective surface in orbit around a planet or moon, the purpose of which is to focus sunlight onto the surface.

Theodore Sturgeon (1941)
Orbital Retirement Hotel
A retirement home placed in low earth orbit.

Carl Sagan (1985)
Orbiting Casino Advertising Sign
The mightiest billboard in the Solar System!

Jack Williamson (1939)
Osprey Space Armor
Space suit you can live in.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Ostler Insulation Beam
A beam of energy stretching from one planet to another that protects space craft from radiation.

Frank K. Kelly (1932)
Outbound Interplanetary Traffic
The rules of the spacelanes.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Overdrive - it's FTL
A propulsion technology that allows a craft to travel at faster-than-light speed.

Murray Leinster (1945)
Oxygen Concentrator
Gathers oxygen from a thin atmosphere until it is breathable, supporting life.

Poul Anderson (1951)
Oxygen Fountain
A small factory for making oxygen on the Martian surface.

Greg Bear (2014)
Oxygen Freshener - breath of fresh air
A device that removed carbon dioxide from air and replaced it with fresh oxygen.

Manly Wade Wellman (1941)
Oxygen Space Flare
A flare that burns inside a glass bulb with oxygen.

Ray Cummings (1930)
Oxygen Weeds
Plants that create oxygen on a planet with little breathable air.

Arthur C. Clarke (1951)
Ozone Radiation Shield
Filling the gap between the inner and outer hull with ozone.

Max Valier (1931)
Palimpscreen
A thin piece of digital paper.

Ray Naylor (2022)
Paragravity
Artificial gravity.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Parallel Universe
An entirely separate realm or universe that exists along with our own; it may be wildly different or vary from ours by only a tiny degree.

H.G. Wells (1923)
Parking Orbit - take the gig down
An orbit from which access to the planet's surface via a small auxiliary vessel is quick and uncomplicated.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Personal Force-Shield - earliest mention?
A portable force-shield small enough to be carried by a single man.

Isaac Asimov (1951)
Personal Rocket Jet
A small, handheld jet pack that can be used to maneuver freely in space.

Robert Heinlein (1948)
Photo-Electric Mosaic
A means of capturing astronomical images.

Nat Schachner (1937)
Photoelectric Telescope (Photoelectric Eyes) - astronomical pictures produced automatically
An astronomical telescope that uses the photoelectric effect to gather light, and then to present the finished image on a screen.

Jack Williamson (1936)
Photograph of Earth from Space
An aerial photograph from outside the atmosphere.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Photonic Sail
A sail that uses light pressure for propulsion.

Cordwainer Smith (1962)
Pilot Beam
A signalling device that space craft in orbit descending to Earth could home in on and land.

Murray Leinster (1941)
Pilot-Robot
The piloting gear of a space tug.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Planet Rules
Regulations governing the behavior of the away team on a new planet.

Clifford Simak (1956)
Planetary Engineering
Remaking or modifying an entire planet.

Jack Williamson (1936)
Planetary Globe
A craftsman's model of a planet.

Julian May (1953)
Planetary Propulsion-Blasts - moving a planet
Devices capable of moving and steering planets to new orbits or new stars.

Edmond Hamilton (1934)
Planetfall
Making a landing on a planet from space.

Malcolm Jameson (1940)
Planets Made Habitable
A plan to "terraform" a planet to improve its habitability by human beings.

Olaf Stapledon (1930)
Planet-Smasher
Devices capable of destroying an entire planet.

Murray Leinster (1947)
Planoforming
A form of "faster than light" travel allows for interstellar travel.

Cordwainer Smith (1953)
Plastic Igloo - with an airlock
A heavy plastic shelter for use in airless environments.

Emmett McDowell (1946)
Plastifoam
Used to seal large leaks in space craft.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Pleasure Planet
A vast world devoted to enjoyment.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Plug-Ups
Tiny plastic balls that seal leaks on spacecraft.

Glen Cook (1985)
Pneumatic Suit
An airtight spacesuit.

Otto Willi Gail (1929)
Pocket Universe
A created, separate space within the normal space of the universe.

Murray Leinster (1946)
Pocket-Planet
An asteroid.

P. Schuyler  Miller (w/D. McDermott) (1932)
Poison Space Cloud (Etheric Poison)
A deadly cloud of gas large enough to envelop the solar system.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1913)
Polar Ice
Water ice at the poles of the Moon.

Roger MacBride Allen (1990)
Polarization Apparatus
A device that caused a space ship to repel the Earth and send a space ship on its way.

Nat Schachner (1932)
Poldek
Ability to sense life.

Eric Frank Russell (1937)
Portable Atomic Heater
Compact source of energy.

Robert Heinlein (1939)
Jack Williamson (1931)
Power Planet - power for Earth
A satellite that supplies the Earth with power.

Murray Leinster (1931)
Precipitrons
Filtration system to remove dust and other particulates from the atmosphere in space stations.

Fritz Leiber (1961)
Pressor (Pressor Beam) - push not pull
A force-field beam that pushes, rather than pulls.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1931)
Pressor Field
A force field that pressed against anything that encountered it.

Joe Haldeman (1974)
Pressure Curtain
A force field that creates a barrier that people can pass through but air cannot - an airlock in a spacecraft.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Project Scoop
A space craft feature that collects dust for study.

Michael Crichton (1969)
Propulsion Gun
What can you push against in space?

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Protective Shield - personal force field
An energy shield for one person.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1934)
Pseudogravity
Gravity produced by artifice, rather than by a suitably large mass.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Puff (Puff Balls)
Material that is used to help Skyrines dropped to the surface of Mars get rid of some of that excess velocity.

Greg Bear (2014)
Pushpot
An independent rocket motor that can attach itself to an object bound for space.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Radiation Shield
A clever use for the water you need to take anyway.

John W. Campbell (1936)
Radiation-Proof Oxygen Suit
A specialized space suit for use in radium mining on Jupiter.

Frank Belknap Long, Jr. (1936)
Radio Meteor Detector
A device carried by space ships that could detect meteors in space early enough to avoid them.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Radium Repeller ray
Move inbound asteroids aside to keep ships safe.

Neil R. Jones (1931)
Ramscoop - pull in hydrogen
An enormous magnetic field precedes a spaceship moving through space, directing interstellar hydrogen inward for use as fuel.

Larry Niven (1965)
Ray Pistol
A handheld device for projecting radiative force of some kind.

John W. Campbell (1930)
Reaction Attachment
Independent maneuvering for space suits.

Neil R. Jones (1931)
Reaction Pistol - zero gee maneuvering
A hand-held device for maneuvering in zero gravity in a space suit.

Stanley D. Bell (1932)
Reaction-Motors
A spacecraft engine that works by firing matter out at high speed.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Recoil Pistol
A handheld device that permits a spaceman to manuever in zero gravity.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Remote (or Seeker Remote) - Jedi training device
A training aid for use by Jedi knights.

George Lucas (1976)
Repulsor
A device that inhibits the action of a spacewarp drive.

Frederic Brown (1949)
Repulsor Screen
Diverts troublesome asteroids.

Nat Schachner (1937)
Retard-Jets
Rockets to slow down.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1951)
Reversal Coils
Provide both entry into a negative universe and propulsion.

Jack Williamson (1938)
Ribbon World
A planet that presents the same face to its sun has a small habitable area - the ribbon between light and dark.

Isaac Asimov (1952)
Robot Observatory
A fully automated astronomical observatory, placed on a planet (typically, one that does not support human life).

John Berryman (1939)
Robot Spectra Analyzer
Device used to find ones position in real space.

Harry Harrison (1959)
Rocket Cruiser
A privately owned space ship.

Manly Wade Wellman (1940)
Rocket Engine Moves Moon
Using the propulsive mechanism of a space ship to move a small moon or asteroid.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1929)
Rocket Float
A sea-going floating platform for rocket launches.

Harl Vincent (1931)
Rocket Liner
A rocket designed for point-to-point Earth journeys; it goes well into the stratosphere.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Rocket Pistol
Using pistol rounds to maneuver in space.

Philip Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) (1929)
Rocket Side Tubes
An early description of attitude jets, course correction by small emissions of gas.

Edmond Hamilton (1930)
Rocket Tug
The equivalent of a tug boat for space ships.

Nat Schachner (1937)
Rocket-Belt
A single-user propulsion pack.

Manly Wade Wellman (1940)
Rocketeer
A person who pilots rockets.

Leo Zagat (1943)
Rocketeering
Racing around in rockets

John Victor Peterson (1938)
Rocketrix
A female rocket pilot.

Stanley G. and Helen Weinbaum (1936)
Rogue Planet
A planet without a sun, it wanders through galactic space.

Poul Anderson (1967)
Rogue World
A celestial nomad, a planetary body that is not tied to a particular sun.

George RR Martin (1977)
Rotated Solid Space Habitat - a solid can city
A solid version of a artifact rotated to achieve artificial gravity.

Poul Anderson (1989)
Rotating Hollow Planetoid Habitat
An asteroid (or planetoid) hollowed out, spun for artificial gravity, used as a habitat.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Sargasso of Space
A "dead area" in which the gravitational fields of the planets are cancelled out.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
Satellite Search and Destroy
Destroying satellites in orbit.

John Brunner (1975)
Seetee Blinker
A marker of contraterrene matter (antimatter) asteroids, to aid in interplanetary navigation.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Selenium Photo-Electric Televisor
A specialized photo-electric cell.

Max Valier (1931)
Seleno-Cosmo-Tel
Device to automatically avoid asteroids or other bodies.

Donald Wandrei (1933)
Self-Propelled Space Suit
A vacuum suit with a means of propelling itself built in.

Leo Zagat (1937)
Self-Propulsive Space Suit
A space suit outfitted with its own means of movement.

Anthony Gilmore (1932)
Self-Sustaining Space Craft
A spacecraft ecosystem.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Shadow Square - provider of darkness
An enormous blind that orbits a star.

Larry Niven (1970)
Shield
Early name for a defensive force field.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1930)
Ship Hull Thermobatteries
Solar activated and charged batteries built into the hull of a spacecraft.

Murray Leinster (1945)
Ship Pushes Moon
Altering the course of a small moon by pushing on it with a rocket motor.

Philip Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) (1929)
Ship's Artificial Gravity
A very early mention of the term.

Philip Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) (1929)
Ship's Magnetic Plates (Magnetic Mooring)
Keeps a mining ship attached to the surface of an asteroid.

Clifford Simak (1932)
Ships Propelled By Light Pressure
Space ships that use light pressure from a distant source for propulsion

Edmond Hamilton (1929)
Ship's Telescope
A large telescope built into the main axis of the ship.

Max Valier (1931)
Shock Hammock
Special netting oriented for pilots in high gee spacecraft.

Lester del Rey (1939)
Shock-Absorbing Seats
Perfect for the many gravities of acceleration upon take-off.

Edmond Hamilton (1930)
Silica Sphere (Dyson sphere)
An enclosed environment, excavated on Mars, and then placed into the heavens (it's Phobos)

Harl Vincent (1934)
Skew-Flip Turnover
Used halfway to the destination by torch ships to slow for one's destination.

Robert Heinlein (1958)
Skin Suit - a second skin
A very tight-fighting spacesuit, or disguise.

Keith Laumer (1971)
Skintight
Specialized space suit for low atmospheric pressure environments like Mars.

Greg Bear (2014)
Skip-Glide
A means of using the atmosphere to delicately slow a space craft during re-entry.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Skydozer
Small spacecraft used to remove orbital debris.

George M. Ewing (1987)
Slaver Stasis Field - where time does not pass
A force field that protects everything inside it by creating a space in which time is suspended.

Larry Niven (1970)
Sleep Destroying Field
Causes lack of sleep.

Theodore Sturgeon (1941)
Slide Rule w/Radio Attachment
Slide rule communicates results immediately with computer.

A.E. van Vogt (1955)
Slowboat
An interstellar craft carrying people.

Larry Niven (1967)
Smoke Filter
Allows grizzled spacemen to smoke in space ships.

Robert Heinlein (1939)
Smoke Jets (Air Leak Detection)
A means of determining the location of air leaks in a building built on an airless moon.

Leo Zagat (1932)
Sol
Familiar name for our own sun.

L.F. Stone (1929)
Solar Engine
A space ship that gets it motive power from the rays of the sun.

Harry Bates (1934)
Solar Flare System
Space-based parabolic reflector that focuses light for destructive purposes.

Yoshiyuki Tomino (1979)
Solar Power Apparatus
An ingenious device to gather solar energy, melt water, power a turbine and get hydrogen and oxygen fuel from ice.

Max Valier (1931)
Solar Sail (Light Sail) - propulsion for spacecraft
A form of propulsion for spacecraft; a sheet of lightweight material reflects light from the sun or other light source.

Jack Vance (1962)
Solar Station
A satellite that gathers solar energy in space and then beams it to Earth (or other planetary surface).

Isaac Asimov (1941)
Solar Yacht Periscope
A device used in the small cabin of a solar yacht.

Arthur C. Clarke (1963)
Soletta
An array of solar sail mirrors that focus light onto a planetary surface for power.

Kim Stanley Robinson (1995)
Sounding Projectile
Provides a way to tell whether there’s a soldid surface on a cloudy planet.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1936)
Space Beacon - variable star will guide you
An ordinary sun is transformed into a beacon for use by spacecraft when in hyperspace.

George O. Smith (1952)
Space Bubble (Bubb)
An inflatable spacecraft.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Space Buoy
A marker in space.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Space Cadet
A young person training to be a spaceman.

Leo Zagat (1943)
Space Capsule
A minimal space craft.

E.R. James (1954)
Space Charts
A pictorial representation of suns in space.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Space Craft
A ship that travels through the airless void of space.

Wilford Allen (1929)
Space Craft Rope Ladder
Equipment used for debarking from a space craft.

Eric Frank Russell (1955)
Space Dock
Like a port for spacecraft; they can deliver their passengers and cargo.

Gordon A. Giles (1937)
Space Fleet
A group of mighty ships capable of space travel - and fighting.

L.H. Morrow (1930)
Space Flight Simulator
Very early description of a way to practice flying in space while still on Earth.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Space Force
That branch of the military with a presence outside the atmosphere.

Ray Cummings (1932)
Space Laboratory
A specialized space station, for scientific research.

Nat Schachner (1937)
Space Legs
The ability to walk under high gee acceleration on a space ship.

Clifton B. Kruse (1936)
Space Lock
An airlock on a spacecraft.

John W. Campbell (1930)
Space Men - first use of this term
Beings who travel and work in space.

Jim Vanny (1931)
Space Mittens
Protect your hands in space.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1934)
Space Navy
Spacefaring professional soldiers.

B.X. Barry (1931)
Manly Wade Wellman (1941)
Space Phobia
When astronauts have had enough.

Lester del Rey (1953)
Space Pirate
Space ships taken against their will.

Edmond Hamilton (1930)
Space Placers - Roughing It in space
Miners who use placer mining techniques adapted from Earth geology.

Nelson S. Bond (1941)
Space Platform
The Space Platform for Checking Aggression is a military orbital weapons platform.

E.B. White (1950)
Space Rush
The Outer Space equivalent of the gold rush.

Nat Schachner (1941)
Space Sailing
Using the solar wind to propel a space vessel.

J.D. Bernal (1929)
Space Socks
Protective garments for the lower extremities.

Manly Wade Wellman (1941)
Space Station
A base of operations in space, typically in orbit around a larger body.

Jack Williamson (1941)
Space Station One
Describes an early space station similar to the International Space Station, that grew over time by accretion.

Arthur C. Clarke (1951)
Space Suit - early reference
Special protective gear worn as protection in space.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Space Tanned
A tan acquired by being exposed to sunlight while outside the atmosphere.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Space Tramp
An old, slow spacecraft.

Ed Earl Repp (1940)
Space Transfer Station
An orbiting space station primarily used as a stepping-off point from Earth.

Robert Heinlein (1951)
Space Travel
Human movement through outer space.

Clare Winger Harris (w/MJ Breuer) (1929)
Space Tug
A small vessel used to maneuver other ships.

Eando Binder (1933)
Space Tunnel
An enclosed gang plank extended between space ships.

Polton Cross (1941)
Space Walk
Standard term for moving through the void of space.

Dom Passante (1939)
Space Warp - first use of this phrase and idea
The very fabric of space-time.

Nat Schachner (1934)
Space Weather Map
A map that details hazardous space conditions.

A.E. van Vogt (1943)
Space-Beacon
Device used to guide a space craft into finding an inhabited planet or colony on a planet.

Murray Leinster (1956)
Spaceboat
Runabout for outer space.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1932)
Space-Boat
A small space-worthy craft for use in emergencies.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1932)
Space-Boots
Special footgear for spacemen.

Anthony Gilmore (1932)
Space-Burned
Analogous to sun-burned.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Space-Contraction Drive
Slip through endless interstellar space by making the distance smaller.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Spacecraft Ejection Seat
An ejection seat for spacecraft, to be used in the event of problems during launch.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Spacecraft Invisibility Electronics
A means of rendering a spacecraft invisible to detection by electromagnetic means.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Spacecraft Landing Wings
A means of cutting speed from orbit, then landing.

- Marius (1928)
Spacedog
Experienced hands on space ships.

Malcolm Jameson (1939)
Space-Drive
A means of providing propulsion for a spacecraft.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Spacefaring
A nation or people who explore and trade in space.

Robert Heinlein (1957)
Space-Helmet
A 'fishbowl-style' head covering for space explorers.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
Spacehound
An experienced spaceman.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1931)
Space-Lanes - like the space-ways
Well-traveled routes through outer space.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Spacelanes Traffic Jam
Fanciful description of commuters in space.

Philip K. Dick (1954)
Space-Liner - first use of phrase
A passenger ship in space.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Spaceport
A location on the surface of a planet used for launching vehicles into space.

M. Breuer (w/J. Williamson) (1930)
Space-Post
A trading post in space.

Harry Walton (1939)
Space-Sailor
A spaceman; someone who makes his living by voyaging in space.

Edmond Hamilton (1933)
Spaceship Garden
A fully-enclosed garden on a spaceship producing edible foodstuffs.

Harley S. Aldinger (1932)
Space-Split
Access to other dimensions provided by splitting space itself.

Edmond Hamilton (1947)
Space-Suit Rockets
Attached rockets allow movement in zero-gee space.

Frank K. Kelly (1933)
Spacesuit Testing
A device and method for testing spacesuits.

Otto Willi Gail (1929)
Space-Tanned
The characteristic darkening of the men of the spaceways.

Warren Hammond (1932)
Space-Tent
A small, portable air-tight structure used on the lunar surface.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1931)
Spacewalk
Going outside your space craft for a short time.

Garrett P. Serviss (1898)
Space-Walker
Tall cylinder with a window at eye-level, and pincer-claws controlled by the wearer.

Edmond Hamilton (1930)
Spaceward Lunar Hemisphere
Another name for the lunar far side.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1954)
Spacewarp Drive
A means of faster-than-light travel.

Frederic Brown (1949)
Spaceways
A set route though space.

C.L. Moore (1933)
Space-Weather Men
Predictors of the 'weather' in space.

Lawrence Chandler (1952)
Spectro-Flash Analysis
Device for determining the content of meteorites.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Spectroscopic Robot Converter - see the composition of planetoids
Accepted the return of soft x-ray radiation, and translated it into Fraunhofer spectra.

Gordon A. Giles (1937)
Spider
A robotic device that both extruded cable and climbed along it; a space construction robot.

Charles Sheffield (1979)
Spinning Pressurized Drum
Put a spin on just a part of a space station.

Robert Heinlein (1951)
Splashdown - the original idea
The use of water as a medium for landing one's space ship in.

Jules Verne (1867)
Spotlight of Heat (Orbital Microwaves) - magical heat from above
Using an orbiting satellite microwave array to heat a specific portion of a planetary surface.

Larry Niven w/Pournelle, Flynn (1991)
Squeaker
Used to search out radium in asteroids.

F.E. Hardart (1941)
Star Base
An installation or station at an important interstellar location.

R.M. Williams (1944)
Star Drive
The propulsion unit for an interstellar space craft.

Poul Anderson (1948)
Star Travel
Undertaking a journey between the stars.

Edmond Hamilton (1946)
Stardrive - not faster than light
Propulsion method that quickly brings a ship's speed to nearly that of light.

Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
Star-Globe (3D Map)
A celestial star map, done in three dimensions.

Frederic Brown (1945)
Star-Globe (Ship)
A spherical spacecraft.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1951)
Starlight Sail (Light Sail) - very early reference
A light sail capable of sailing between solar systems.

Cordwainer Smith (1960)
Starship
A vehicle for space travel.

Raymond Quiex (1926)
Starways
The well-traveled paths from star to star.

Ray Cummings (1936)
Starwisp - tiny interstellar probe
An small interstellar probe using a light-sail for propulsion.

Charles Stross (2005)
Steel-Lined Space Boots
In combination with a magnetized floor, allows the user to walk in zero gravity.

Clyde Wilson (1938)
Steering a Star - driving a sun
Steering a star, altering its path, taking it to a new location.

Edmond Hamilton (1928)
Stellarimeter
Used by space navigators.

Samuel R. Delany (1966)
Stellene
A tough, transparent material used to make domes or even spacecraft.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Stimsuit
An elastic suit worn to decrease the effects of micro-gravity in space.

C.J. Cherryh (1991)
Stopper Bubble - twisted superstrings
Device that halts time within its boundaries.

John Varley (2006)
Stratoyacht
A privately-owned pleasure craft capable of attaining orbit.

Leo Zagat (1943)
Sub-C
Of ships, older models that travel at speeds below that of light.

Philip K. Dick (1953)
Sub-Space
A dimension or a transmission medium other than our own, which allows faster-than-light communication or movement.

Nat Schachner (1937)
Suit-Phone
A means of wireless communication between individuals dressed in space suits.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
Suit-Radio - space suit comm
A means of communication between two individuals clad in space suits.

George O. Smith (1944)
Sun Dome
Used on Venus to give relief from the endless rain.

Ray Bradbury (1951)
Sun Goggles
Lenses darken in spots to block the brightness of alien suns.

Larry Niven (1968)
Sunlight Blocker
A roughly circular field which denies sunlight to an area of a planet.

Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
Sun-Powered Ionic Drive Motor
A rocket propulsion system that takes solar energy to power an ion drive.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1961)
Sun-Quilt
A colorful fabric with a silvered backing used to shield the interior of a living-globe from excessive sunlight.

Fritz Leiber (1961)
Sunship
A space craft powered entirely by the sun.

Jack Williamson (1931)
Sunward
The direction leading toward the center of the solar system.

Edwin K. Sloat (1932)
Superluminal
Faster than the speed of light.

Colin Kapp (1972)
Supralight Drive
A propulsion system that allows a spacecraft to travel faster than light.

George Lucas (1976)
Survey Craft
Light duty ship for use in atmosphere, to explore planets.

A.E. van Vogt (1948)
Survival Bubble (Beach Ball) - personal rescue enclosure
Simplest possible space survival pod.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1985)
Suspensine
Slows biological functions enough to survive in airless space - for a time.

Poul Anderson (1951)
Sweep Field
Pulls in interplanetary matter for space ship propulsion.

Robert Heinlein (1941)
Synthetigrav
General term for any of the fields produced by synthetic gravity devices.

James Schmitz (1949)
Tag-Along Balloon - find the space station leak
A bladder-like device that both finds and temporarily fixes leaks in moon tunnels or space station habitats.

Robert Heinlein (1948)
Telectroscope
A much better telescope than yours.

John W. Campbell (1931)
Teleoperated Beetle Car
A remotely-operated robotic vehicle that permitted telepresence.

James Blish (1957)
Telepresence Bulldozer - robotics for remote operation
A bulldozer on the Moon that is operated remotely by a driver on Earth.

Jerry Pournelle (w/L. Niven) (1981)
Telespectroscope
Device for searching for habitable (Earth-like) planets.

Edmond Hamilton (1936)
Terminator Zone
The area between solar illumination and shade.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1931)
Terrene
Pertaining to the Earth.

Clark Ashton Smith (1931)
Test Box
A remote-controlled device for capturing small objects from open space.

F.E. Hardart (1940)
Tether Space Station
A station in two parts, separated by a one hundred mile tether.

David Brin (1983)
Tetrahedron Interference Projector
Projects a field of force around the Solar System, bending the light of stars to make them seem more distant.

Will Garth (1938)
The Hub
A large space resort consisting of inhabitable bubbles in a metal framework.

Jack Vance (1958)
The Shed - sf predecessor to the VAB
Enormous building needed to assemble giant space craft or space stations.

Murray Leinster (1953)
The Sleep
Use of a special technique to lessen the supplies required for long space voyages.

Judson W. Reeves (1930)
Thermalarm Relays
Detects objects by their heat radiation, so space craft can maneuver around them.

Jack Williamson (1942)
Thigh Grips
Special chair feature for space ships undergoing accelerations.

Murray Leinster (1931)
Tight-Beam - hard to find
A method of communication that uses a very narrowly-focused stream of energy.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1930)
Time Stream
The total sequence of events considered as a kind of flow.

John Taine (1931)
Timeout
The part of a Skyrene's life that is spent in Warm Sleep travel between Earth and the destination planet.

Greg Bear (2014)
TMA-1 - the Tycho monolith
The Tycho Monolith.

Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
Torch
The orifice from which issued the reaction mass of an atomic powered space craft.

Robert Heinlein (1950)
Tractatruck
Combination tractor and truck used for hauling and exploration.

John W. Campbell (1950)
Tractor Beam - pulling force at a distance
A force field used to pull objects.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1931)
Tractor Boots
Space suit footgear that has atom-driven caterpillar treads.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1938)
Tramline
The line along which hyperspace (instantaneous travel) travel is possible.

Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
Transfer Cable
Move between two ships in space.

Jack Williamson (1933)
Transfer Refuge
A portable environment chamber, able to support unique and different lifeforms.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1938)
Transkin
A hooded protective suit worn on Venus.

Stanley G. Weinbaum (1935)
Transparent Dome Helmet
A spacesuit helmet that can be seen through.

G. Peyton Wertenbaker (1926)
Trip to Mars
A voyage across space to the planet Mars.

Percy Greg (1880)
Triple Airlock
Special device to protect against extremely corrosive atmospheres.

H. Beam Piper (1952)
Trolling Tether Cable
Simple fishing technique applied to moving cargo off-planet.

Charles Fontenay (1956)
Tubular Field of Force
Can pull an object through space.

Jack Williamson (1936)
Tubular Space-Gangway
A means of traversing the short distance between two ships in space.

Edmond Hamilton (1933)
Turnover
The point in a torchship's trajectory when it must flip over and point its fiery tail toward its destination to decelerate.

George O. Smith (1944)
Ultra-Telescope Ray
A transporter Ray that works over interplanetary distances.

Harl Vincent (1931)
Ultra-Terrene
Originating from some world other than Earth.

Clark Ashton Smith (1931)
Vac Suit
A space suit, designed for use in vacuum.

Leigh Brackett (1942)
Vacuum Armor
An armor-plated space suit.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith (1930)
Vacuum Suit
An early description of a space suit, and the first use of this now archaic phrase.

G. Peyton Wertenbaker (1926)
Vacuum Wall Compartments
Shielding against heat by using walls with evacuated sections.

Raymond Z. Gallun (1940)
Vacuum-Cupped Sandals
Used for walking in weightless environments.

Ray Cummings (1938)
Venus Cities Float In Atmosphere
Cloud cities on Venus.

Fritz Leiber (1958)
Venus Equilateral Relay Station
A converted asteroid that served as the relay station for telecommunications throughout the solar system.

George O. Smith (1942)
Vibration Machine
A device that neutralized the gravitational force of the sun on the earth.

Edmond Hamilton (1929)
Visiwave
Even faster than ultrawave! a means of instantaneous communication over lightyear distances.

Jack Williamson (1939)
Wandering Sunless Planet
A planet that is not bound to a star.

Isaac Asimov (1946)
Wandering Worlds
Planets that are attached to no sun, and roam interstellar space.

Edwin Balmer (w/P. Wylie) (1932)
Wango Wave - sign of hyperspace
Energy surge that accompanies the entrance into, and exit from, overdrive outside of normal space.

Murray Leinster (1947)
Warp of Space
A fault or pucker in spacetime.

Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) (1930)
Warp-Speed
Faster than light spaceships.

Fox B. Holden (1952)
Water Bulb
A zero-gee dispenser of liquids.

Frederik Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth) (1952)
Water From Lunar Gypsum
Extracting water (and therefore oxygen, by electrolysis) from apparently dry lunar material.

John W. Campbell (1950)
Water Pool Cushions Acceleration
The use of water to cushion and protect against extreme ship accelerations.

John W. Campbell (1932)
Water-Springs
Using water to cushion the living space of a spacecraft from the effects of acceleration.

Jules Verne (1867)
Way Station Materializer
By sending impulses that describe a creature from star to star, transport across the galaxy is accomplished.

Clifford Simak (1963)
Weary Deep-Sleep
Phildickian old-sleep.

Philip K. Dick (1964)
Webfoam Cradle
A means of softening the landing for humans inside spacecraft.

Robert Silverberg (1969)
Weightlessness (Kepler)
The notion that there could be a location with zero effective gravity.

Johannes Kepler (1634)
Weightlessness in Space
This appears to be the first description of the idea of weightlessness in space.

Francis Godwin (1638)
Weight-Shoes
Devices intended to make it easier to walk on celestial bodies with weaker gravity.

Edmond Hamilton (1942)
Robert Heinlein (1942)
Whoopee Drive
Spacecraft propulsion.

John Maddox Roberts (1979)
Wire-Gun
Device that aids movement in microgravity.

Yoshiyuki Tomino (1979)
Wreck-Pack
An agglomeration of wrecked spacecraft drawn together by mutual gravitational attraction in the 'dead area' of the solar system.

Edmond Hamilton (1931)
X Gun (X-Beam Projector) - see inside a planetoid
A device that projected soft x-rays into small planetoids to determine their composition.

Gordon A. Giles (1937)
Xenephrene Interstellar World
A planet not attached to a solar system.

Ray Cummings (1942)
Zero 'g' (Zero Gee)
In a ship in orbit, in free fall.

Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
Zero-G Cups
Cups that were specially designed to be usable under zero gravity conditions.

Murray Leinster (1953)
Zero-Gravity
A state in which gravity is effectively absent or cancelled out.

John R. Binder (1938)

Related Science Fiction in the News

JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Jack Williamson, 9/25/2024 )
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.' Percy Greg, 1880.
(re: Percy Greg, 9/3/2024 )
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 )
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.' - Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 7/6/2024 )
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.' - John W. Campbell, 1950.
(re: John W. Campbell, 6/4/2024 )
FLOAT Levitating Train On The Moon ala Clarke
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1955.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/8/2024 )
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 )
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
(re: Stanley G. and Helen Weinbaum, 4/2/2024 )
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.' - EE 'Doc' Smith, 1928.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 3/20/2024 )
Can A Human Land A SpaceX Rocket On Its Tail?
'If she starts to roll sideways — blooey! The underjets only hold you up when they’re pointing down, you know.' - Stanley G. Weinbaum, 1936.
(re: Stanley G. Weinbaum, 3/2/2024 )
First Ever Proof Of Water On Asteroids
'Yes, strangely enough there was still sufficient water beneath the surface of Vesta.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 2/6/2024 )
Gigantic Space Sunshade Would Fight Global Warming
'...the light of the sun had been polarized by two crossed fields so that no radiation could pass.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1953.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/2/2024 )
Untethered Spacewalk's 50th Anniversary
'But that space walk of mine wasn't so very amazing.' - Dom Passante, 1939.
(re: Dom Passante, 1/30/2024 )
ESA Designs Huge Inflatable Moonbase
'It was like being inside a balloon; indeed, that was exactly where he was.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1961.
(re: Philip K. Dick, 1/28/2024 )
Project Kuiper Satellite Mesh Network
'What is that?' [Uhura]
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 12/23/2023 )
Blue Ring Spacecraft Platform Concept From Blue Origin
'...the space platform, a gadget the Army had succeeded in establishing six hundred miles up.' - EB White, 1950.
(re: EB White, 12/9/2023 )
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Sees Extreme Flare
'Radar-electronic recording devices had measured and calculated...' - Lawrence Chandler, 1952.
(re: Lawrence Chandler, 12/3/2023 )
The Warp And Fabric Of Spacetime
'Jenkins had evidently fallen into a warp in space.' - Schachner and Zagat, 1930.
(re: Schachner and Zagat, 11/27/2023 )
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around? Just asking.
(re: Various, 11/13/2023 )
NASA's Psyche Mission To Metal Asteroid Launches Thursday!
'We can even fuel the space ships and mine the Asteroid Belt for rare metals...'
(re: E.C. Tubb, 10/7/2023 )
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 )
That's MOXIE! Terraforming Mars Baby Steps
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock.' - Jack Williamson, 1931.
(re: Jack Williamson, 9/21/2023 )
Solar X-Flares Disrupt North American Radio And Navigation
'A true cosmic storm!' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
(re: Jack Williamson, 8/7/2023 )
Restructure An Asteroid, Spin It, Get A 'Space Habitat' With Gravity?
'When the colony was established, the whole interior was carved out with atomic burners...' - John Campbell, 1932.
(re: John Campbell, 8/5/2023 )
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 )
Privatized Moon Mining Appeals To Entrepreneurs
'The engineer had judged correctly for the ground on which the space ship had landed consisted of ice...' - Max Valier, 1931.
(re: Max Valier, 7/19/2023 )
Earth A Rogue Planet? A Wandering World?
'The larger of the two wandering worlds would strike and annihilate the earth.'
(re: Balmer and Wylie, 7/11/2023 )
Queqiao 2 Communications Relay Satellite Will Support Lunar Missions
'The Venus Equilateral Relay Station was a modern miracle of engineering...' - George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 7/1/2023 )
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 )
Japan's LignoSat Space Wood Satellite And Dan Simmons' Treeship
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...' - Dan Simmons, 1989.
(re: Dan Simmons, 5/29/2023 )
Is It Time For Lunar Farside Telescopes?
'Mount Ambarzumian Observatory, on Farside.' - Poul Anderson, 1958.
(re: Poul Anderson, 5/9/2023 )
Spaceflight Vertigo Solved By NASA Releasing The Kraken
"I threw up in my helmet."
(re: Various, 5/7/2023 )
Lunar Pogo Stick - Retro Technovelgy From 1968
'Lucky touched the leap knob...' - Isaac Asimov, 1954.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 5/1/2023 )
Was Jack Williamson's 'Cometeer' Ship Inspired By Halley's Comet?
'Its shape was puzzling - a strangely perfect ellipsoid...' - Jack Williamson, 1936.
(re: Jack Williamson, 4/9/2023 )
Could Aliens Shelter In 'Terminator Zones' on 'Ribbon World' Exoplanets?
'... the two halves face the monotonous extremes of heat and cold, while the region of possible life is the girdling ribbon of the twilight zone.' - Isaac Asimov, 1945.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 4/5/2023 )
Space Weather Forecasters Surprised By Strong Solar Storm
'Space-weather men had been placed at their disposal...' - Lawrence Chandler, 1952.
(re: Lawrence Chandler, 3/17/2023 )
JWST Finds New World Of Turbulent Silicate Clouds
'THIS is Ceti Alpha V!' - Gene Roddenberry, 1982.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/15/2023 )
Spectroscopic Analysis Of DART Impact Debris Cloud (SF Prediction)
'... Wendis stared thoughtfully at the brilliant lines on the spectroscope screen.' - EC Tube, 1958.
(re: EC Tubb, 3/11/2023 )
M-Dwarf Stars May Not Have Habitable Planets
'Thus it came about that the search for a planetiferous sun near a white dwarf star was not unduly prolonged...' - EE 'Doc' Smith, 1934.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 3/1/2023 )
Too Soon To Doom Lunar Farside Observatories
'Earth never shone there, but life was good.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1954.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 2/27/2023 )
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 )
SpaceX Fairing Catch Suggestion
Just a suggestion...
(re: Ed Earl Repp, 2/2/2023 )
Changesite Mineral To Be Mined On Moon By China
'But then... not every bulldozer operator works on the Moon.' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
(re: Pournelle and Niven, 1/11/2023 )
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 )
Space Billboards Would Ruin Our View Of The Cosmos
'But the rising sign, as it had been designed to do, held his eyes. A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
(re: Jack Williamson, 1/3/2023 )
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 )
Mars Mission Using Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
'with its atomic engine as noiseless as a dancing sunbeam...' - HG Wells, 1914.
(re: HG Wells, 12/27/2022 )
Olympus 3D Printing Using Lunar And Martian Materials
The system may be used to create critical infrastructure on the Moon, including landing pads, blast shields, and roads.
(re: John Campbell, 11/25/2022 )
'Parastronaut' First Astronaut With Disability From ESA (Updated!)
'He had left Earth to get away from its gravitational field...' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/13/2022 )
Mars Space Weather Alert (MSWA) System
'On the three-dimensional map at weather headquarters... the storm was colored orange.' - AE van Vogt, 1943.
(re: AE van Vogt, 10/29/2022 )
Hovering Over The Lunar Surface
'It looked like a sure thing.' - Raymond F. Jones, 1973.
(re: Raymond F. Jones, 10/9/2022 )
The Far Side Of The Moon, By NASA (2015) And By PAUL (1932)
"We had leisure to make a thorough observation of the hidden side of earth's satellite."
(re: Frank R. Paul, 9/19/2022 )
Sierra Space Inflatable LIFE Habitat Burst Pressure Test
'It was like being inside a balloon...' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1961.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/15/2022 )
Space-Based Solar Power A Priority - European Space Agency
'...vast man-made disk of metal set spinning about the sun to supply the Earth with power.'
(re: Murray Leinster, 8/21/2022 )
Goldilocks Zones Found On The Moon
Hopefully, there are no Mynocks in shadowed lunar craters, chewing on the power cables of spacecraft...
(re: George Lucas, 8/19/2022 )
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 )
MIT Proposes Space Bubbles To Combat Climate Change, Misses The Point Of Space Bubbles
'Fats Jordan was hanging in the center of the Big Glass Balloon, hugging his guitar to his massive black belly above his purple shorts.' - Fritz Leiber, 1961.
(re: Fritz Leiber, 7/11/2022 )
Study Reveals Effect Of Space Travel On The Brain
'... the brain is no longer subjected to the accustomed pull, and it expands slightly in all directions.' - Hugo Gernsback, 1929.
(re: Hugo Gernsback, 7/7/2022 )
Could Increased Space Rocketry Damage The Ozone Layer?
'...without burning a single hydrocarbon molecule to injure the diseased atmosphere any further.' Peter F. Hamilton, 1998.
(re: Peter F. Hamilton, 6/27/2022 )
China Wants 'Hard Kill' Capability To Counter Starlink Satellites
'pirate three-vee satellites sanded out of orbit...' - John Brunner, 1975.
(re: John Brunner, 6/17/2022 )
MOOSE: Man Out Of Space Easiest or Manned Orbital Operations Safety Equipment
'And as the ball bulleted downward on a screaming slant, it shrank!' - Doc Smith, 1934.
(re: Doc Smith, 5/9/2022 )
NASA 'Holoports' Doctor Onto Space Station
Star Trek Voyager Emergency Medical Hologram
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 4/29/2022 )
Six Ships Are Now Docked At The International Space Station!
It's getting crowded up there!
(re: Various, 4/11/2022 )
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 )
Superfast Energetic Electron 'Precipitation' Pelts Our Earth!
'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, 3/19/2022 )
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 )
American Astronaut Will Return With Fellow Russian Crew
A most difficult announcement
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 3/5/2022 )
ESA Team To Make Oxygen On The Moon
'Gypsum fed into the furnaces is quickly ejected as de-hydrated CaSO4' - John W. Campbell, 1950.
(re: John W. Campbell, 3/1/2022 )
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 )
Gloves In Science Fact And Science Fiction
'It was in effect a palmless glove made of impact-sensitive plastic about a quarter-inch thick.' - John Brunner, 1968.
(re: John Brunner, 2/3/2022 )
Orbital Prime Garbage Collectors Active Debris Remediation
'...a Skydozer, towing space junk.' - George M. Ewing, 1987.
(re: George M. Ewing, 1/23/2022 )
Tunnel Of Magnetized Filaments May Enclose Solar System
'The radiation comes from the axle of our galaxy where the gravity of a billion suns has opened our universe to the multiverse.' AA Atanasio, 1981.
(re: Arthur Conan Doyle, 1/13/2022 )
Star Trek Voyager Replica Tricorder And Galaxy Quest
'They designed those controls after watching you...take her out!'
(re: Various, 1/9/2022 )
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 )
Apollo 8 Astronauts Pass The Equigravisphere
'... divers other objects, firearms and bottles, abandoned to themselves, held themselves up as by enchantment.' - Jules Verne, 1867.
(re: Jules Verne, 12/15/2021 )
China Treating Helium-3 On The Moon Seriously
Nothing like the movies to show what science fictional ideas might work.
(re: Duncan Jones, 12/9/2021 )
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 )
Tselina Spacecraft Platform Destroyed In Russian Anti-Satellite Test
'pirate three-vee satellites sanded out of orbit...' - John Brunner, 1975.
(re: John Brunner, 11/9/2021 )
Tiangong Space Station! Exercise Like It's 1953
'He couldn't imitate actual gravity, of course...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 11/5/2021 )
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 )
International Space Mission Never Leaves Earth
'That gives it complete isolation.' - David H. Keller, 1932.
(re: David H. Keller, 10/17/2021 )
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 )
Starlab By Nanoracks, A Commercial Space Station
'Webb Foster had built his space laboratory... It was a great crystal sphere, a thousand feet in diameter.'
(re: Nat Schachner, 10/5/2021 )
SpaceX Creates 'Tholian Web' Mega Constellation Of Satellites
'We shall not see home again!' - Gene Roddenberry, 1969.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 9/15/2021 )
It's Spacewalk Sunday, Thanks To The ESA
'The delicious, indescribable pleasure of being a little planet swinging through space...' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 9/7/2021 )
NASA Predicts Radiation Risks
'...in order to check the deadly short-wave gamma rays of space.' - Max Valier, 1931.
(re: Max Valier, 8/17/2021 )
Adjust Earth Temp With A Bazillion Solar Sunshades
'...as the sun passed the meridian at Cape Town-it went out.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1953.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/11/2021 )
Can China Create Megawatt Solar Power Satellites By 2030?
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun.' - Isaac Asimov, 1941.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 8/5/2021 )
Gherman Titov Youngest To Orbit, First To Be Space Sick
'For the first time since he left Earth he became space-sick.' - Hugo Gernsback, 1911.
(re: Hugo Gernsback, 8/1/2021 )
SpaceX Starship A Giant Space Telescope?
'He used the great telescope which was built into the main axis of the ship...' - Max Valier, 1931.
(re: Max Valier, 7/11/2021 )
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needs Action
'Approaching Earth, he called over the patrol frequency and asked for a parking orbit...' - Robert Heinlein, 1941.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/5/2021 )
Is A Hollow Rotating Asteroid Habitat Practical?
'Inside, the centrifugal force gives an acceleration just equal to one earth gravity...'- John W. Campbell, 1932.
(re: John W. Campbell, 6/27/2021 )
Wandering Sunless Planets Seen By Kepler Telescope
'...the rocky barrenness of a wandering sunless planet.' - Isaac Asimov, 1946.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 6/23/2021 )
How Can We Block An Asteroid?
How can we move through space free of the hazard of space rocks?
(re: Miles J. Breuer, 6/17/2021 )
BioPod Inflatable Membrane From Interstellar Lab
'He puffed heavily as he angled around the bulbous lifezones...' - Gregory Benford, 1989.
(re: Gregory Benford, 6/11/2021 )
Antisatellite (ASAT) Measures And Countermeasures
'... the type that gets pirate three-vee satellites sanded out of orbit.' - John Brunner, 1975.
(re: John Brunner, 6/9/2021 )
Habitable Exoplanets Can See Us, As Well
What ever happened to 'intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes...'
(re: HG Wells, 6/7/2021 )
ESA Awards Study For Lunar Satellite Communications And Navigation
'Messages drifted in - from liners and freighters, from police-ships, from yachts of space...' - Miller and McDermott, 1932.
(re: Miller and McDermott, 5/17/2021 )
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 )
Triple Star System Tears Apart Its Planetary Disk
'Our planet, Ev, hangs spinning in the triangle formed by the three, and the three suns revolve slowly around it.' - Edwin K. Sloat, 1933.
(re: Edwin K. Sloat, 5/5/2021 )
TransAstra Lunar Mining Idea Was Max Valier's In 1931
'This concentrated sunlight... would cause subsurface ice to sublimate into water vapor...' - Max Valier, 1931.
(re: Max Valier, 5/1/2021 )
'Human Augmentation' Necessary, Says Space Force Scientist
'Neural circuits buzzed and every sense and response in his body was accelerated by a ratio of five.' - Alfred Bester, 1956.
(re: Alfred Bester, 4/21/2021 )
NASA MOXIE Extracts Oxygen From Mars' Air
'Making oxygen is the trick...' - Greg Bear, 2014.
(re: Greg Bear, 4/7/2021 )
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 )
Sole Morphing Astronaut Boots - A New Pair Of Moon Boots?
'It’s an ideal device for kangarooing along in lunar gravity.' - James P. Hogan, 1977.
(re: James P. Hogan, 3/9/2021 )
Mercury Capsule Ablative Shielding
'...a synthetic which air-friction would erode away.' - Doc Smith, 1934.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 2/13/2021 )
Heinlein And Russian Quail In Orbit
'No earth-hatched bird can learn to fly in that fashion...' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 2/11/2021 )
Space Construction Tools For Large Structures By OAC
'Mass-produced in the orbiting factories...'
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/27/2021 )
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 )
Space Station Could Use Some Martian Sawgrass
'What better purifying machine is there than a plot of grass?' - George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 12/11/2020 )
Arches Of Chaos: Jovian Space Manifolds Create A Celestial Autobahn
'Commute ships roared on all sides, as Ed Morris made his way wearliy home to Earth at the end of a long hard day at the office.' Philip K. Dick,
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 12/3/2020 )
ESA Space Claw To Grab Space Junk
Now, where have I seen this idea before?
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 11/25/2020 )
Glass Dome Cities On Mars, Dreamed By Elon Musk
'They will have flung great arches and domes of glass above the wider spaces...' - HG Wells, 1905.
(re: HG Wells, 11/17/2020 )
Solar Power Beamed From Space Studied By Brit Boffins
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun.' - Murray Leinster, 1931.
(re: Murray Leinster, 11/3/2020 )
Smallest Rogue Planet Discovered In Milky Way
'...a swarm of rogue planets chanced by.' - Poul Anderson, 1967.
(re: Poul Anderson, 10/25/2020 )
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 )
First Lunar Water, Then... Monolith?
'It looks brand new, doesn't it?' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1968.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/21/2020 )
Starlink Satellites Leading Edge On-Orbit Debris Mitigation
Propulsion-assisted orbital decay, brought to you by SpaceX.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/7/2020 )
Space Hero Inc. Offers Trip To ISS As Reality Show Prize
'This is Elmer Schmitz, presenting to you the finalists in our Aviation Quiz Program...' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1952.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/2/2020 )
Bigrating Laser Beam-Riding Light Sail Is Self-Correcting
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.' - Cordwainer Smith, 1960.
(re: Cordwainer Smith, 9/19/2020 )
ISS Astronauts Test Estee Lauder 'Advanced Night Repair' Skin Serum
'Out in the New Moon, just ask for what you want...' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
(re: Jack Williamson, 9/17/2020 )
Gather Ye Moonrocks While Ye May
'The law of filing on newly discovered asteroids was definite.' - Nat Schachner, 1941.
(re: Nat Schachner, 8/29/2020 )
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 )
Habitability Of Galactic Bulge - Good News For Foundation Fans
'Toran resigned himself to days of careful plotting between Jumps.'- Isaac Asimov, 1955.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 7/29/2020 )
Lava Tubes On Mars And Moon May Be Huge
'Most of the stuff written about Bats' Cave gives a wrong impression.' - Robert Heinlein, 1957.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/27/2020 )
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 )
Perhaps You Might Be Interested In Habitable Exoplanet Moon Real Estate
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
(re: George Lucas, 6/11/2020 )
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 )
Fast Radio Bursts And Space Beacons For Interstellar Navigation
'Every beacon has a code signal as part of its radiation...' - Harry Harrison, 1959.
(re: Harry Harrison, 6/5/2020 )
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 )
PRAM Solar Powered Satellite Hardware Tested In Orbit
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun' - Isaac Asimov, 1941.
(re: Olaf Stapledon, 5/15/2020 )
MIT Wants To Catch Interstellar Visitors
'INVESTIGATE MYSTERIOUS OBJECT ENTERING NEW CALEDONIA SYSTEM FROM NORMAL SPACE' - Niven and Pournelle, 1974.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 4/25/2020 )
Starlink Orbital Network Like Coruscant Traffic Jam
Vermin of the Sky? Or Internet access for all?
(re: George Lucas, 4/9/2020 )
NASA Competition To Design A Bucket Drum For Moon Mining
'There was a heap of discarded ore where Grantline had carted and dumped it...' - Ray Cummings, 1930.
(re: Ray Cummings, 3/7/2020 )
Are You Ready For Commercial Space Travel?
'It wasn't a pleasant trip; it was a miserable trip on a miserable, undersized tourist rocket...' - Pohl/Kornbluth, 1952.
(re: Pohl and Kornbluth, 2/27/2020 )
NASA's Electric Motor Scooter
'...all the [lunar] prospectors took bicycles along as a matter of course'
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/1/2020 )
Extremophile Microbe Loves Space Rocks
'... designed for rooting in the metal make-up of the asteroids for vital elements.' - F.E. Hardart, 1941.
(re: F.E. Hardart, 11/29/2019 )
Space Domes Over-rated? Science Fiction Authors Have Answers
'This was to be roofed over, sealed, and an atmosphere provided...' - Robert Heinlein, 1939.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/23/2019 )
NASA 'Broomstick' Recalls SciFi Ideas
'The appearance was enough like a giant witch's broom to justify the nickname.' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/3/2019 )
Orbital Display's Low Earth Orbit Advertisements
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
(re: Jack Williamson, 11/1/2019 )
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 )
Microbot Interstellar von Neumann Explorers
‘ Maybe some of them are geared to escape velocity.’ - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
(re: Philip K Dick, 10/15/2019 )
When Will We See The First Space Hotel?
'The heart of it was a vast hexagonal structure of welded metal, ten miles across...' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
(re: Jack Williamson, 9/19/2019 )
SpaceX Starhopper Has Flash Gordon Style
SpaceX makes retro cool spacecraft.
(re: Various, 9/17/2019 )
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 )
Space-Based Solar Power Roundup
Who first thought about this concept?
(re: Murray Leinster, 7/25/2019 )
'Aerogel' Sheets For Martian Gardens
'Sealed to the ground along all the sides, Honey, he growled...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z Gallun, 7/21/2019 )
Michelin Self-Sealing Tires On Ford's Explorer
'...a seal of compressed plastifoam to save the air.' - Jack Williamson, 1941.
(re: Jack Williamson, 7/7/2019 )
Mining Of Golden Asteroid Foretold In 1898 Science Fiction
'This must be a golden planet—this little asteroid.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 6/15/2019 )
Miners! NASA Wants To License RASSOR Excavator
'The borers had been dismantled and packed away.' - Ray Cummings, 1930.
(re: Ray Cummings, 6/13/2019 )
Starshade Will Help Space Telescope To Search For Exoplanets
'When it found planetary systems in its field, automatically shifted upon them a higher powered telespectroscope ...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 6/7/2019 )
Yes, But Do Astrobees Have Lasers For Lightsaber Training?
'... Ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.' - George Lucas, 1977.
(re: George Lucas, 4/5/2019 )
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 )
Johns Hopkins Says Asteroid Deflection Will Be Difficult
'This obelisk is one huge deflector mechanism...' - Gene Roddenberry, 1968.
(re: Miles Breuer, 2/19/2019 )
Hayabusa 2 To Begin Asteroid Mining
'We must dig down, and then doubtless we shall find the metal.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 2/7/2019 )
Can Musk Starship Astronauts Use Magnetic Boots?
'Walking awkwardly in the magnetic boots that held him to the black mass of meteoric iron...'
(re: Jack Williamson, 1/21/2019 )
Giant Dolphin Spotted On Jupiter!
'Now at last he could appreciate its real size and complexity...'
(re: Various, 1/19/2019 )
Musk's Starship An SF Fan's Dream Come True
Perfect for testing, perfect for fans!
(re: Raymond Quiex, 1/17/2019 )
WINE Spacecraft To Extract Water From Asteroids
'Yes, strangely enough there was still sufficient water beneath the surface of Vesta.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 12/25/2018 )
Japanese Swordsmiths Take On Asteroids
'... a tiny, rocket-powered projectile, drove towards the mysterious bulk.' - E. C. Tubb, 1958.
(re: E.C. Tubb, 12/23/2018 )
Saturn's Rings To Vanish, Let's Mine Them While We Can
'...the valuable shards of what had once been satellites.' - Nelson S. Bond, 1941.
(re: Nelson S. Bond, 12/21/2018 )
Negative Matter Fluid Theorized In New Paper
'Of course, being negative matter, when you push it, it comes toward you..' - Robert Forward, 1992.
(re: Robert Forward, 12/5/2018 )
Grow Structures Upon Planetfall - Myco-Architecture
'They'll also start pulling in gases and liquids from the local atmosphere...' - Greg Bear, 2015.
(re: Greg Bear, 12/3/2018 )
A Look Back At Apollo's Emergency Escape Vehicle
'A simple mechanism... it drove the iron ball through space like a ship.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Jack Williamson, 11/23/2018 )
Amazing Kepler Space Telescope Decommissioned By NASA
'Thus it came about that the search for a planetiferous sun... was not unduly prolonged...' - Doc Smith, 1934.
(re: Doc Smith, 11/15/2018 )
Exploring Oceans Across The Solar System
'Black liquid flashed past the turbot’s infrared eyes.' - Michael Swanwick, 2002.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 10/24/2018 )
Moving Whole Planets, Revisited
There was a lot of work done on this idea over the years.
(re: EE Doc Smith, 10/18/2018 )
Autonomous 'Fiberbots' Weave Large Structures
'It extrudes material like a spider.' - Charles Sheffield, 1979.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 10/10/2018 )
How Do You Put An Asteroid Into Earth Orbit? Carefully!
'...she would have to be coaxed by another series of pats into a circular orbit.' - Robert Heinlein, 1939.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 9/3/2018 )
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 )
International Space Station Leak Plugged - With Finger
'These tag-alongs search out stray leaks' - Robert Heinlein, 1948.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 8/25/2018 )
Space Drones - UK's Effective Space To Launch Rocket Tugs
'Twenty rocket tugs towed it from its Earth hangar out into space.' - Nat Schachner, 1937.
(re: Nat Schachner, 8/12/2018 )
ELROI Satellite 'License Plate'
Robert Heinlein was thinking about this in 1941.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 8/9/2018 )
Bezos Invites You To New Life In Off-World Colonies
'A new life awaits you!'
(re: Ridley Scott, 7/25/2018 )
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 )
Is There Life In Outer Space? Will We Recognize It?
'The antennae of the Life Detector atop the OP swept back and forth...' - Frank Herbert, 1958.
(re: Frank Herbert, 7/3/2018 )
Space Traumapod For Surgery In Spacecraft
' It was a ... coffin, form-fitted to Nessus himself...' - Larry Niven, 1972.
(re: Larry Niven, 7/1/2018 )
A Space Ship On My Back
''Darn clever, these suits,' he murmured.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Jack Williamson, 6/27/2018 )
Elon Musk Tweets Versions Of Clarke's Operation Cleanup
'Fortunately, the old orbital forts were superbly equipped for this task.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 3/28/2018 )
Espresso Telescope Searches For Exoplanets
'These instruments were the wonderful ones our astronomers had perfected.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 3/10/2018 )
Manned Maneuvering Unit From 1984
'The glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Neil R. Jones, 3/8/2018 )
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 )
Humanity Star LEO Advertisement?
'Everyone has noticed those enormous advertisements...' Jules Verne, 1889.
(re: Jules Verne, 1/20/2018 )
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 )
NASA SEXTANT First With X-Ray Nav In Space
'You need at least four beacons for an accurate fix.' - Harry Harrison, 1956.
(re: Harry Harrison, 1/12/2018 )
Subsurface Martian Ice Slabs Piece Of Cake For Miners
'One shy little fellow with bloodshot eyes of old-time drillman stood up. 'I'm an ice miner,' he said.' - Robert Heinlein, 1966.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/10/2018 )
I Want Massive Space Freighters!
Ah, the space freighters of old.
(re: Edwin K. Stoat, 1/3/2018 )
Our World Formed In A Bubble?
'The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...' - Philip K. Dick, 1953.
(re: Philip K. Dick, 1/1/2018 )
Will You Live To See EM Pulse Scattering By Ships Nearing Light Speed?
'...half a million kilometers away, the Stardrive went on.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1953.
(re: Arthur C Clarke, 12/11/2017 )
Nifty New SDS Space Debris Sensor For ISS
'Their radars... could easily pinpoint the debris of the early Space Age.' Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 12/5/2017 )
NanoRacks Space Station Module Concept Validated
Space junk into space architecture.
(re: David Brin, 12/4/2017 )
Interstellar Asteroid Visits Our Solar System
'This asteroid had whirled in from the cold of the interplanetary space...' - Ray Cummings, 1930.
(re: Ray Cummings, 11/7/2017 )
UM Hall Thruster Breaks Records
Someday, we'll see an ion drive used to get to Mars.
(re: Jack Williamson, 11/4/2017 )
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 )
Lunatix Lunar Rover Will Accept YOUR Commands!
'The bulldozer moved through the lunar strip mine... ' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 10/24/2017 )
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 )
Make Space Tools On The Spot (Like Moties)
'A moment ago it was squeezing silver toothpaste in a ribbon...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1974.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 9/10/2017 )
Bacteria Behave Differently In Space
'The Republic struggled to control its Sours...' - Bruce Sterling, 1985.
(re: Bruce Sterling, 9/4/2017 )
SpaceX Spacesuit Design Transmitted By Elon Musk
Welcome, SpaceX, to the club of space suit imaginers and makers.
(re: Schachner and Zagat, 8/9/2017 )
Will A Steel Umbrella Stop Russia?
'Everyone was aware that the damned platform was wandering around in its own orbit...' - EB White, 1950.
(re: EB White, 8/8/2017 )
NASA Wants To Make Oxygen On Mars
'They plop down on the Red and if the dust is deep enough ... they burrow in...' - Greg Bear, 2014.
(re: Greg Bear, 8/4/2017 )
A Look Into The Future Of Spacecraft!
Ever wonder how you look when you enter a new part of a spacecraft?
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 7/29/2017 )
Breakthrough Starshot Sprites Yearn For Alpha Centauri
'Whoever launched it fired a laser cannon...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1971.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 7/25/2017 )
Astronaut Exercise Video, Predicted By SF Writers
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses.' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 7/23/2017 )
JAXA's Int-Ball Drone To Follow Astronauts In Space Station
'I want you to build me some of those.' MIT Professor David Miller, 1999.
(re: George Lucas, 7/20/2017 )
Moon Express Lunar Robot Mining: Shine On, Harvest Moon
'The bulldozer moved through the lunar strip mine... ' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
(re: Pournelle and Niven, 7/12/2017 )
Asteroid Deflection With DART
'This obelisk is one huge deflector mechanism...' Gene Roddenberry, 1968.
(re: Miles Breuer, 7/3/2017 )
Unrolling The Filmy Materials Of Space Tech
'When unfolded and unrolled... it became a tough, gleaming film.' - Jack Vance, 1962.
(re: Jack Vance, 5/28/2017 )
Bake in Space Bake-Off... In Space!
'A joyous condition commenced for the cook in the electric kitchen...' - Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 5/25/2017 )
Free-Floating Planet Capture Not Rare, Says Paper
'planets which had been pulled from their pathways ages ago by a passing star...' - Balmer and Wylie, 1932.
(re: Balmer and Wylie, 5/10/2017 )
Spider Flyer Walker Space Suit For Mars Astronauts
'The eight thin metallic legs were pointed downwards...' - Charles Sheffield, 1979.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 5/7/2017 )
Orbital Space Tourism For $1M
'Big cigar. Narrows at the ends.' - William Gibson, 1984.
(re: William Gibson, 5/4/2017 )
NASA's Astronaut Rescue Ball
'Ball and closely-prisoned man plummeted downward..' - Doc Smith, 1934.
(re: Doc Smith, 4/30/2017 )
NASA Asks For Moon To Earth Delivery Ideas
'Authority's 3-g catapult was almost one hundred kilometers long...' - Robert Heinlein, 1966.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 4/23/2017 )
Rapid Automated Search For Habitable Planets Needed
'I was near enough it now to set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching it for a habitable planet.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 4/18/2017 )
NASA's Meteorite-Resistant Fabric Perfect For Space Armor
'The men who labored so feverishly there, were clad in heavy space armor...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1932.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 4/10/2017 )
Is 'The Pulsar Positioning System' Evidence For SETI?
'For a hyperspace jump, you need at least four beacons for an accurate fix.' - Harry Harrison, 1959.
(re: Harry Harrison, 3/30/2017 )
Are Observed Radio Bursts An Alien Propulsion Technology?
'These cones were driven through space by light pressure, the possibilities of which force they had long utilized.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1929.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 3/16/2017 )
Caltech's ET Laboratory Looks For New Earths
'...set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'- Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 3/15/2017 )
Shh! USAF's Secret X-37B Space Plane Breaks Record
'More airplane than spaceship...' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 3/13/2017 )
Caihong Solar-Powered Drone 'Atmospheric Satellite'
'... placed in the wings of a plane to generate power from the light falling on that surface.' - John W. Campbell, 1930.
(re: John W. Campbell, 3/7/2017 )
NASA Wants Low Earth Orbit Wifi
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.' - George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 3/6/2017 )
The Space Suit As Personal Spaceship
'Darn clever, these suits...' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
(re: Jack Williamson, 2/23/2017 )
Pent-Up NASA Scientists Simulate Life On Mars
'That gives it complete isolation.' - David H. Keller, 1932.
(re: David H. Keller, 1/17/2017 )
Dust Movement On The Moon, Saturn's Rings Solved
'...The dust normally on the surface picks up and keeps a charge.' - Hal Clement, 1956.
(re: Hal Clement, 1/6/2017 )
Axiom - The World's First Private Space Station?
'So Webb Foster had built his space laboratory... It was a great crystal sphere, a thousand feet in diameter.' - Nat Schachner, 1937.
(re: Nat Schachner, 1/2/2017 )
Moon's Huge Lava Tubes Perfect For Heinlein's Bat Wings
'It's just a big volcanic bubble, two miles across...' - Robert Heinlein, 1957.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 12/15/2016 )
Planet Buster Dead Star Vaporizes Mini-Planet
'A planet buster - that’s a Class-A oxygen bomb.' - Kendall Foster Crossen
(re: Kendall Foster Crossen, 12/9/2016 )
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 )
Childhood Dreams Of Space Realized! Space Junk Problem Solved!
'Give the noble daydreams a rest, you preachy rookie. Astronauts are wage slaves like everyone else!' - Planets, 2003.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 11/18/2016 )
LBNP Device Not Quite 'Artificial Gravity'
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses..' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 11/16/2016 )
China's XPNAV 1 To Use X-Ray Pulsars For Navigation
'For a hyperspace jump, you need at least four beacons for an accurate fix.' - Harry Harrison, 1956.
(re: George O. Smith, 11/15/2016 )
Will Astronauts Get iPads In Space?
'He would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1968.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 11/6/2016 )
ESA Plans Akon Projectile To Europa ala Jules Verne
'... might [it] not be possible to project a shot up to the moon?' Jules Verne, 1867.
(re: Jules Verne, 10/14/2016 )
Confirm 100 Exoplanets At Once! (With Video)
'My automatic astronomical instruments searching for a habitable planet.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 9/27/2016 )
Blue Origin Tests 'Escape Pod' Capability
'I'm going to regret this...' - George Lucas, 1976.
(re: George Lucas, 9/26/2016 )
Space Elevator Planned By Obayashi Corp
'And so to establish an elevator system linking Earth to space?' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1976.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/22/2016 )
New Laser Space Debris Clearing More Subtle Than Clarke's
Rather than nudge them up, nudge them down.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/2/2016 )
Proposal To Use Lasers To Analyze Asteroids
'Wendis stared thoughtfully at the brilliant lines on the spectroscope screen.' - EC Tubb, 1958.
(re: EC Tubb, 8/29/2016 )
Juno Gets Close To Jupiter, Fiction Gets Closer!
Amazing Juno spacecraft cozies up to the biggest planet in our solar system.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/23/2016 )
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 )
NASA's Interplanetary Internet DTN
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.' - George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 8/9/2016 )
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 )
Tethers Unlimited Satellite Mini-Thrusters
'They combined the absolute maximum of sheer thrust with the irreducible minimum of flyability.' - Murray Leinster,
(re: Murray Leinster, 7/20/2016 )
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Looks Nearby
'I... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching it for a habitable planet.'- Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 7/14/2016 )
RAMST - Robotically Assembled Modular Space Telescope
'The eight thin metallic legs were pointed downwards, balanced delicately...' - Charles Sheffield, 1979.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 7/11/2016 )
ROCKY - Resistive Overload Combined With Kinetic Yo-Yo
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses..' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 7/8/2016 )
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 )
Brick By Brick, Building Martian Bases
Don't try to boost everything from the surface of the Earth.
(re: John W. Campbell, 6/13/2016 )
Cool 'Single-Person Spaceships' Have Better SF Name
'A cabin so small, you couldn't stand up with the air lock closed..' - Larry Niven, 1969.
(re: Larry Niven, 6/6/2016 )
Skating On Mars' Frozen Pools
'They went down, put on their skates, and started.' - Robert Heinlein, 1949.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 6/1/2016 )
Bigelow To Offer Inflatable Lunar Bases
Arthur C. Clarke would be thrilled.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/27/2016 )
Space Station Room Inflated! (Time-Lapse Video)
'Letting it inflate from the air-flasks...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1961.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 5/26/2016 )
Jeff Bezos Wants Orbiting Factories (Clarke-style)
'Only in the orbiting factories...'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/25/2016 )
DARPA's XS-1 Spaceplane
'They were more airplane than spaceship...' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/13/2016 )
NASA Culturing ISS Walls For Microbes
'Collect organisms and dust for study...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.
(re: Michael Crichton, 5/10/2016 )
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet Tests His Suit
'The interior will be like airless and pressure-less space.' - Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 5/6/2016 )
Astronaut Tim Peake Completes Space Marathon
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Murray Leinster, 4/23/2016 )
Aerojet Rocketdyne 'Ion Drive' To Reach The Asteroids? (Update!)
'It has its own ion drive...' - Jack Williamson, 1947.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 4/22/2016 )
Is Social Media Saving Space Travel?
'Officially, they were delighted to share their experiences with the public.' - Michael Swanwick
(re: Michael Swanwick, 4/20/2016 )
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module Attached to ISS
'John Endlich and his wife were setting up an airtight tent...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 4/16/2016 )
Hydrogen Leak Detection By HySense
'Feathered wisps of tell-tale vapor whisked through...' - Leo Zagat, 1932.
(re: Leo Zagat, 4/15/2016 )
Breakthrough Starshot Sends Chip Craft To The Stars
'There was a laser cannon big enough to punch a hole through We Made It's moon.' - Larry Niven, 1966.
(re: Larry Niven , 4/10/2016 )
SpaceX Falcon Water Landing Presaged By Russian Sci-Fi Film
Yes, you've seen it before - in science fiction!
(re: M. Karzhukov/A. Kozyr, 4/9/2016 )
Asteroid Cleaner Robot To Sweep Up Dust Around The Solar System
'JPL was designing a satellite to enter the fringes of space and collect organisms and dust for study...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.
(re: Michael Crichton, 4/8/2016 )
The Remotely-Operated Cold Atom Laboratory
'Hello, Europa... Is this your robot I'm looking at?' - James Blish, 1957.
(re: James Blish, 3/10/2016 )
Archinaut 3D Printing Autonomous Space Manufacturing System
Crawling across the structures of future space craft.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 2/24/2016 )
Crowdfunded Russian Beacon Satellite Is An Orbital Mirror
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...' - Theodore Sturgeon, 1941.
(re: Theodore Sturgeon, 2/19/2016 )
Asteroids Threaten Earth? New Study Details Laser Ablation Method
'This obelisk is one huge deflector mechanism...' - Gene Roddenberry, 1968.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 1/12/2016 )
Martian Concrete, Rich In Sulphur, Made After Arrival
'We have been mining steadily, and making some photocells...' - John W. Campbell, 1951.
(re: John W. Campbell, 1/8/2016 )
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 )
Space Synthetic Biology Grand Challenges
'What better purifying machine is there than a plot of grass?' - George O. Smith,
(re: George O. Smith, 12/4/2015 )
Blue Origin Reusable Rocket's Vertical Landing
We're getting there, one launch at a time. Nice going, Blue Origins!
(re: Various, 11/17/2015 )
Have Scientists Found A Parallel Universe Leaking Into Ours
'Ellis had found a weak point, a shimmer, at which another continuum completely had been visible.' - Philip K. Dick, 1966.
(re: Philip K Dick, 11/14/2015 )
Senate Passes Space Mining Legislation
'The law of filing on newly discovered asteroids was definite...' - Nat Schachner, 1941.
(re: Nat Schachner, 11/7/2015 )
The 'Marching Mountains' Of Pluto
Calling Captain Future! Your time has come.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 11/4/2015 )
3D Printed Pluto And Charon, For Imperial Collectors
'It was the kind of globe made for wealthy collectors or planetary governors of the Empire.' - Frank Herbert, 1965.
(re: Frank Herbert, 10/13/2015 )
A Solar System Swept Clean - For A Dyson Swarm
'They cleaned it out...' - Larry Niven, 1970
(re: Larry Niven, 10/8/2015 )
ADEPT Heat Shield Works For Mars
'...A synthetic which air-friction would erode away...' - EE Doc Smith, 1934.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 10/3/2015 )
Nuke Mars To Terraform It, Says Elon Musk
'... Mars could not be made habitable without first being stocked with air and water...' - Olaf Stapledon, 1930.
(re: Olaf Stapledon, 9/10/2015 )
Texas-Sized Ice Slab Found On Mars
'That's okay, still ice in The Rock and a miner expects to sound for it...'- Robert Heinlein, 1966.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 9/9/2015 )
NASA Turns To Museum Space Shuttles For Parts
Tropes true to life.
(re: Niven & Pournelle, 9/5/2015 )
Self-Healing Materials For Spacecraft
'It even had an inter-skin layer of gum that sealed the punctures...'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 8/13/2015 )
Canada's Inflatable Space Elevator Tower
"...establish an elevator system linking Earth to space?"- Arthur C. Clarke, 1976.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/3/2015 )
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 )
NASA Misses $5Trillion Funding Boost
'This must be a golden planet—this little asteroid.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 7/5/2015 )
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 )
Microbes To Terraform Mars?
'Terraform the little rock...'- Jack Williamson, 1941.
(re: Jack Williamson, 5/7/2015 )
Tyson Says Asteroid Miners Will Be First Trillionaires
'...Come together here under the influence of their mutual gravitation, and formed a little metallic planet.'- Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 5/1/2015 )
Zap Space Debris With Telescope Laser On ISS
'... their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 4/24/2015 )
Spacex Sticks Landing! But Neglects Lateral Forces
Elon Musk and Spacex engineers will not be denied!
(re: Various, 4/9/2015 )
Asterank Database Identifies Profitable Asteroids
'Now it was a huge, charted, floating ore deposit for the entire Solar System.'- Nelson S. Bond, 1941.
(re: Nelson S. Bond, 4/2/2015 )
China Plans Orbiting Solar Power Station
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun.'- Isaac Asimov, 1941.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 3/23/2015 )
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 )
How Many Systems In That Galactic Empire Now?
'An Empire to twenty million stellar systems...'- Isaac Asimov, 1953.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 3/11/2015 )
Britain To Build Spaceport, First In Europe
'The space-ports at the three great cities...'- Breuer/Williamson, 1930.
(re: Breuer and Williamson, 3/5/2015 )
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 )
Space Station Kitchens 1929 and 2015
'Plates and cups ... slowly floated down to the floor and were not broken.'- Otto Willi Gail, 1929.
(re: Otto Willi Gail, 2/22/2015 )
Bigelow Gets FAA Backing For Moon
'Above them a dome of transparent plastic kept the fresh spring-scented air in...'- Philip K. Dick
(re: Philip K. Dick, 2/2/2015 )
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 )
Elon Musk, Google To Extend Internet Into Earth Orbit, Then Mars
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'- George O Smith, 1942.
(re: George O Smith, 1/12/2015 )
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 )
Stellar Navigation Based On Network Analysis
'We are a traveling people. We need a travel station here.'- Clifford Simak, 1963.
(re: Clifford Simak, 12/8/2014 )
Students! NASA Wants To 3D Print Your Tool Design In Space!
'Mass-produced only in the orbiting factories...'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1979
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/21/2014 )
Flock Of Minisats Will Image The Earth
'We... dropped roughly a thousand eyes on Beta Hydri IV.'- Robert Silverberg, 1969.
(re: Robert Silverberg, 10/17/2014 )
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 )
Bigelow's Inflatable BEAM Module Ready For ISS In 2015
'The bubble had inflatable seats and an inflatable table...'- Larry Niven, 1994.
(re: Larry Niven, 10/8/2014 )
Torpor Inducing Transfer Habitats Sleeping Your Way To Mars!
'Somnolents require about one per cent the living room needed by active, functioning humans...'- Robert Heinlein, 1941.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 10/5/2014 )
MIT's Latest Biosuit For Fashionable Astronauts
'You'd need a space suit to make any kind of a successful trip outdoors.'- Manly Wade Wellman, 1947.
(re: Randall P. Serviss, 9/24/2014 )
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 )
The Amazing Gravity-Assisted Journey Of Rosetta
'...We used the [moon's] attraction to give us additional starting speed'- Ray Cummings, 1930.
(re: Ray Cummings, 9/10/2014 )
Hayabusa-2 Asteroid Cannon Strategy From 1950's SF Novel
'Fire streaked in a thin line from the muzzle of a cannon-like tube...'- EC Tubb, 1958.
(re: EC Tubb, 9/5/2014 )
Man-Made Space Leaf Creates Oxygen From Water And Light
'What better purifying machine is there than... grass?'- George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 7/27/2014 )
Revisiting A Cloud City On Venus
I've been looking forward to something like this since 1980.
(re: Fritz Leiber, 7/6/2014 )
'Windowless Cockpit' Like Star Trek's Patent Applied For
Wait - you thought Sulu had a window?
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 7/5/2014 )
NASA's Warp Speed Starship Design
'As Earth's faster-than-light spaceship hung in the void between galaxies...'- John W. Campbell
(re: John W. Campbell, 6/12/2014 )
ForceShoes, NASA's Exercise Sandals For Astronauts
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses.'- Murray Leinster, 1953.
(re: Jack Williamson, 6/3/2014 )
Bookies Let You Place Your Bets On the Future!
I'll bet you feel strongly enough about at least one of these bets to want to put your money down.
(re: David Brin, 4/18/2014 )
NASA Gives Away Rocket Code - For Dads
'The rocket thundered and leaped. The children danced in their hammocks, screaming.'- Ray Bradbury, 1952.
(re: Ray Bradbury, 4/4/2014 )
Automated Planet Finder Telescope Starts The Hunt
'I was near enough it now to set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching it for a habitable planet.'- Edmond Hamilton, 1936.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 4/3/2014 )
Spacesuit Z-2: NASA Wants You To Pick Their Next Design
'Al was hastily donning his space suit...'- Schachner and Zagat, 1931.
(re: Schachner and Zagat, 3/29/2014 )
Can 'Dimers' Be Used For Star Trek's Long Range Sensors?
From 'Using Dimers to Measure Biosignatures and Atmospheric Pressure for Terrestrial Exoplanets'.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/13/2014 )
Australians To Zap Space Junk Ala Arthur C. Clarke
'[They] could easily pinpoint the debris of the early Space Age.'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 3/12/2014 )
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 )
Robot Kirobo Talks With Astronauts Aboard ISS
Robots now converse in space. With humans.
(re: George Lucas, 12/18/2013 )
NASA's LADEE Enters Lunar Orbit
'... dust normally on the surface picks up and keeps a charge.' - Hal Clement, 1956.
(re: Hal Clement, 11/28/2013 )
Nuclear Interceptors Designed For Planetary Protection
See NASA's concept for a nuclear interceptor.
(re: Various, 10/16/2013 )
SpaceX Grasshopper Divert Video
Isn't this the way that rocket ships were meant to land?
(re: , 8/15/2013 )
Ultrasonic Noise Betrays ISS Leaks
Gentlemen, Be Seated!
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/4/2013 )
Robonaut To Get Eight-Legged Spidernaut Configuration?
'The eight thin metallic legs were pointed downwards, balanced delicately...'- Charles Sheffield, 1979.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 7/2/2013 )
Snowboarding On Mars? Heinlein Was Ready
How long ago did Robert Heinlein write about skiing on dry alien worlds?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 6/13/2013 )
Could Ground-Based Lasers De-Orbit Space Junk?
'Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/18/2013 )
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'- George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 5/9/2013 )
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 )
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array - And Fred Hoyle
'Scientifically it would all make a lot more sense in Chile.'- Sir Fred Hoyle, 1973.
(re: Fred Hoyle, 3/14/2013 )
Students! NASA's Space Radiation Challenge Is On
'The rocket-water tanks - all around us... that saved us?'- John W. Campbell, 1936.
(re: Max Valier, 3/13/2013 )
Looking For Local Extraterrestrials
'...one day the Face of God awoke... He opened His single Eye.'- Niven and Pournelle, 1974.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 3/9/2013 )
SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Lands On Its Tail
Landing on their tailfins is how rockets were meant to fly.
(re: Various, 3/8/2013 )
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 )
ISS Smart SPHERES Operated By Remote Control From Earth
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'- George Lucas, 1976.
(re: George Lucas, 2/11/2013 )
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 )
Deep Space Industries To Mine Asteroids
'...in a few minutes a hole had been dug in the comparatively light soil of the asteroid.'- Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 1/23/2013 )
Precursor To Life Found In Space Cloud
'By and large, one only expects intelligent life to exist in a diffuse gaseous medium...'- Fred Hoyle, 1957.
(re: Fred Hoyle, 1/14/2013 )
Sorry, No Death Star - Obama Administration
''But it's too big to be a space station,' Solo objected.'- George Lucas, 1976. (But don't forget Doc Smith, scientifiction fans!)
(re: George Lucas, 1/12/2013 )
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 )
Uploading Minds For Interstellar Travel
'I want him to get her whole life printed...'- Cordwainer Smith, 1962.
(re: Cordwainer Smith, 1/9/2013 )
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 )
Supercut Helmet Oddity Space Helmet Mashup
'He took the glass-fronted space helmet...'- Manly Wade Wellman, 1931.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 12/11/2012 )
Fresh Veggies, Fresh Air For Mars
'What better purifying machine is there than a plot of grass?'- George O. Smith, 1942.
(re: George O. Smith, 12/6/2012 )
SABRE Orbital Jet Engine Breakthrough
'They were more airplane than spaceship...'- Robert Heinlein, 1951.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 12/1/2012 )
3D Printer Runs On Moon Dust
Fifties SF leaves engineers in the dust again.
(re: John W. Campbell, 11/28/2012 )
LADEE To Investigate Levitating Lunar Dust
'And what, dear student, happens to particles carrying like electrical charges?'- Hal Clement, 1956.
(re: Hal Clement, 11/18/2012 )
A Rogue Planet - Right In Our Neighborhood
An interstellar world, nomad planet, free-floating planet or orphan planet.
(re: Poul Anderson, 11/16/2012 )
Valerians, Your Heavy Gravity Planet Has Been Found
'...of extraordinary size, strength, and agility because of the enormous gravitation of the planet Valeria'- EE 'Doc' Smith, 1938.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 11/9/2012 )
Neil deGrasse Tyson Finds Krypton! (Video)
Tyson, Superman, Krypton, Action Comics - what's not to like?
(re: Various, 11/7/2012 )
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 )
Private Space Flight At 'Inflection Point'
'The travelers could therefore quit their prison at pleasure, as soon as they should reach the moon.'- Jules Verne, 1867.
(re: Jules Verne, 10/20/2012 )
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 )
Red Bull Stratos' Freefall From 24 Miles High
'He gasped as the air rushed out into near-vacuum...'- EE 'Doc' Smith, 1934.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 10/15/2012 )
NASA's X1 Robotic Exoskeleton For Astronauts
'Earth's scientists solved the problem to some extent by devising rigid metallic clothing...'- Edmond Hamilton, 1932.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 10/15/2012 )
Who First Suggested Terraforming Venus First?
'In five hundred years, all of Venus might be paradise.'- Poul Anderson, 1955.
(re: Poul Anderson, 10/12/2012 )
Space Debris Cleanup - Use Harpoons Or Gas Clouds?
'...satellites of all shapes and sizes... had been accumulating in Earth orbit... Now it had to be located, and somehow disposed of.'- Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/6/2012 )
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 )
Seven (Ten!) Inflatable Space Structures From Science Fiction
'In another minute John Endlich and his wife were setting up an airtight tent...' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1951.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 9/26/2012 )
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 )
Building A Better Space Suit - The Biosuit
'I had stepped outside the car with Lord Kelvin, both of us, of course, wearing our air-tight suits.' - Randall P. Serviss, 1898
(re: Randall P. Serviss, 9/19/2012 )
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 )
Mini Ion Thrusters To Push Tiny Satellites
Perfect for pushing your cubesat around.
(re: Murray Leinster, 8/20/2012 )
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 )
China Carries Out Automated Space Docking
China's space capabilities continue to evolve.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 6/18/2012 )
NASA's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator
From the Office of the Chief Technologist.
(re: EE 'Doc' Smith, 5/15/2012 )
Russia's SAR-400 To Work Alongside Robonaut 2
'For a wild instant he had thought there was a man on Jupiter already...'
(re: James Blish, 5/7/2012 )
Can You Stake A Claim To An Asteroid?
'The law of filing on newly discovered asteroids was definite. Two steps were required. '
(re: Nat Schachner, 4/28/2012 )
Arkyd Spacecraft To Hunt Asteroid Platinum, Water
'This must be a golden planet—this little asteroid.' At least, that's what they are hoping.
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 4/24/2012 )
Is Planetary Resources An Asteroid Mining Company?
'This must be a golden planet—this little asteroid.'
(re: Garrett P. Serviss, 4/19/2012 )
Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large Phased Array
'This was really free power, easy power, plentiful power.'
(re: Clifford Simak, 4/18/2012 )
X-Ray Pulsar 'Beacons' To Guide Spacecraft
Celestial GPS for the solar system - and beyond!
(re: George O. Smith, 3/31/2012 )
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 )
Dawn Spacecraft On A Star Trek Mission
'Dawn’s ambitious exploration of Vesta has been going beautifully'
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/27/2012 )
Exoplanets May Reach 'Warp Speed'
More interesting theories about rogue worlds.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/26/2012 )
Dual-Laser Sensing Like Star Trek Long Range Sensors
Mr. Spock, engage long-range sensors!
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/24/2012 )
NASA Team Camps On An Asteroid (Almost)
Will we ever go camping in space? Keep the dream alive!
(re: Various, 3/19/2012 )
Enormous Ship Refuels From The Sun Video Update
That darned Death Star has to get its planet-busting energy from someplace. Now updated by NASA!
(re: Jack Williamson, 3/16/2012 )
Handy Zero-G Cup
Serving tea in space is harder than you might think.
(re: Murray Leinster, 2/26/2012 )
More Nomad Planets Than Stars?
I don't suppose any of them are arranged in a Klemperer rosette?
(re: Balmer and Wylie, 2/25/2012 )
Japanese Company To Build Space Elevator?
Establish an elevator system linking Earth to space!
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/22/2012 )
CleanSpace One Goal: De-Orbit Space Debris
OK, earthlings: Let's get rid of space debris once and for all!
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/17/2012 )
NEOShield Asteroid Deflector Project Funded By EU
'It is similar to deflector panels I've seen, Captain, but far more complicated.'
(re: Miles Breuer, 2/13/2012 )
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 )
Spidernaut, Orbital Construction Robot
Spider robots are designed to distribute the load over many feet.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 2/7/2012 )
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 )
Netizens Should Search Moon Pix For Aliens
Would you be willing to spend a few minutes poring over old moon photos looking for aliens?
(re: , 12/29/2011 )
Space Solar Power - A Truly Limitless Source
SF writers popularized and elaborated on this idea a generation before the first patents were filed.
(re: Murray Leinster, 11/28/2011 )
Laser-Activated Rescue Thrusters For Astronauts
Make sure those pod bay doors are open, too.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/15/2011 )
Giant Asteroid Misses Earth!
Whew, that's a relief. It did come inside the orbit of the Moon, though.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 11/8/2011 )
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 )
Voyagers Are Now In the Heliosheath
NASA reports new phenomena at the edge of the solar system.
(re: Samuel R. Delany, 6/9/2011 )
Gas Mining on Uranus
Some ideas are just too good to waste.
(re: George Lucas, 6/3/2011 )
Aliens May Live In Black Holes
'An existence domain for the third kind of orbits is rather spacious.'
(re: Frederik Pohl, 4/11/2011 )
Active Electrostatic Radiation Shielding For Space Craft
You're going to need a shield out there; better get started.
(re: John W. Campbell, 3/19/2011 )
Sysbrain Lets Satellites Think For Themselves
This 'special breed of software agents' is intended to give the satellites circling over your head a bit more autonomy.
(re: George Lucas, 2/18/2011 )
Steppenwolf: Interstellar Rogue Planets May Support Life
'Like a lone wolf wandering the galactic steppe' rogue planets could harbor life in deep oceans.
(re: George RR Martin, 2/9/2011 )
Antenna Repairmen In Fact And Fiction
'I am completely operational, and all my circuits are functioning perfectly.'
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/25/2011 )
Moon Mining And Space Lawyers
Need a good space-lawyer? SF readers have been looking for one since 1941.
(re: Nat Schachner, 1/18/2011 )
400 People Volunteer For Mars
Would you volunteer to colonize Mars?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 1/12/2011 )
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 )
NASA Rail Launch In Supermarionation
Where should we look to find new ideas on how to get spacecraft into orbit? I'll give you three guesses.
(re: Gerry Anderson, 12/19/2010 )
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 )
Electronic Sunglasses Designer Needs Your Help!
Ever wanted to be a venture capitalist? Bring these glare-reducing glasses into reality as a consumer product at KickStarter.
(re: Larry Niven, 12/4/2010 )
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 )
Spacetime Cloak Of Invisibility Conceals Events
This unusual suggestion from UK physicists may provide a unique kind of temporal shield.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 11/17/2010 )
Microwave Thermal Thruster With Beamed Propulsion
Yes, we're ready for thrusters. And what about those warp drives?
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 11/4/2010 )
TEMPO2 Uses Pulsars For Celestial GPS
Ah, the age of the space beacon is upon us at last!
(re: George O. Smith, 11/3/2010 )
Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit
This elastic garment should reduce the effects of microgravity environments.
(re: C.J. Cherryh, 10/28/2010 )
Gas Giant Exoplanet Can Has Moons?
Is it possible for a gas gian to form in a binary star system? And could that exoplanet have moons?
(re: Various, 10/24/2010 )
One-Way Human Mission To Mars
Plans to colonize other planets have stalled; maybe we should just go for it.
(re: Various, 10/20/2010 )
Habitable Planet Gliese 581g Is A 'Ribbon World'
Asimov described planets like this one as 'ribbon worlds' and extolled the virtues of their unusual microclimates.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 9/30/2010 )
Rail-Launched Scramjets To Space
NASA looks forward to cutting edge retrofuture strategies for space launches.
(re: Wylie and Balmer, 9/15/2010 )
Hubble Shows 'smoke wound in a tight spiral coil'
Larry Niven gave us a view decades before this Hubble photo. Thanks, Larry.
(re: Larry Niven, 9/10/2010 )
Tractor Beam Works Over Longer Distances
Still a prototype, and it only works in an atmosphere. But still, we're making progress.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 9/8/2010 )
Inflatable Lofts For NASA 'Campers' On Moon And Mars
I love it when I already have a good idea what NASA is looking for in a contest because I read about it decades ago in sf.
(re: Larry Niven, 9/4/2010 )
Solar-Photon Hoop Sails For Extrasolar Travel
Space tech from the 1950's and the sf of the early 1960's is brushed off for possible use.
(re: Jack Vance, 8/13/2010 )
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 )
Voyager 2 Hijacked By Aliens
The aliens probably got the idea for this from Star Trek.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 5/17/2010 )
Laser Thruster 'Tractor Beams' For Space Junk
Here's a suggestion for removing space junk; is it more or less far-fetched than some of the ideas of sf writers?
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/3/2010 )
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 )
'Smart Dust' Spacecraft Swarm Saves Earth?
Smart dust tells us when to duck. The only trick - getting them to one of the Lagrange points.
(re: Various, 4/4/2010 )
The Cygnus Bubble And Astroengineering
Enjoyable space image helps sf fans stretch their imaginations a bit.
(re: Larry Niven, 3/30/2010 )
Teen's Solar System Travel Software Wins Intel Prize
This Albuquerque teen won the highest award for software to help NASA navigate the solar system.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 3/18/2010 )
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 )
CubeSats Miniature Satellites With Mini-Thrusters
Fascinating tiny satellites maneuver with thrusters on a single chip.
(re: George Lucas, 2/9/2010 )
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 )
'Space Diver' To Leap From 121K Feet
120,000 feet is not quite as high as sf movies depict, but when done in reality, will be quite high enough.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 1/22/2010 )
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 )
Adaptability Training System Helps Space Travelers Return
Not just for return to Earth, systems like this could help astronauts after a long weightless voyage to Mars.
(re: Murray Leinster, 12/17/2009 )
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 )
'Plymouth Rock' Human Mission To Asteroids
We've been to the moon, and we know what it's made of. Let's go to asteroids and look for other things we will need.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 12/1/2009 )
Magnetic Heat Shield To Protect Spacecraft
Every sf fan loves shields that protect spacecraft; this design will be tested in the next three years.
(re: Various, 11/25/2009 )
'Significant Amount' Of Lunar Water Found
Lunar ice mining might actually come true, droogs, let's hope Authority buys ice at right price.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/14/2009 )
Escape Pods, Refuge Of ISS Astronauts From Space Junk
Who first thought of the idea of an escape pod? I looked pretty hard, but more research is probably needed.
(re: George Lucas, 11/12/2009 )
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 )
Regolith Excavation Challenge Yields Prize Money
Updated! Someone finally took some NASA prize money home in this remote lunar digging competition.
(re: Pournelle and Niven, 10/23/2009 )
Could Black Holes Consume Stars From Within?
Is this idea a 'radical new theory'? Or is it an idea long familiar to science fiction readers?
(re: Robert L. Forward, 9/23/2009 )
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 )
Gravitational Corridors Like Space-Lanes
Ah, to ply the space-lanes! This old sfnal dream might come true yet.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 9/13/2009 )
Gravity Tractor Research By British Scientists
It would take some planning and advance tracking, but a gravity tractor might actually work.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 9/2/2009 )
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 )
Interplanetary Internet - Disruption Tolerant Network
Let's get astronauts on the 'Net by 2011. In space, no one can hear you tweet.
(re: George O. Smith, 7/14/2009 )
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 )
Transmission Spectrum Of Inhabited Planet Identified
Well, it's about time we figured out what the transmission spectrum of an inhabited planet should look like.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 6/16/2009 )
'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 )
Lunar Spider-Bot Swarm By Team Italia
Bold concept (with at least one functional prototype) by Team Italia, in search of Xprize rewards.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/14/2009 )
PharmaSat Nano-Satellite Orbiting 'Lab'
Interesting experiment exapnds the role of very small, autonomous experimental 'labs'.
(re: Michael Crichton, 5/9/2009 )
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 )
Space Debris Cleanup Suggestions Ignored
It's not like writers didn't do everything they could to sound the alarm - and suggest solutions.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 3/19/2009 )
NASA's Multi-Robot Planetary Exploration
Science fiction writers caught on to this almost seventy years ago; I'm glad it's finally being addressed formally by NASA.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 3/3/2009 )
Robotic Lunar 'MoonDigger' Bulldozers Planned By NASA
Interesting proposal to make use of teleoperated MoonDiggers to prepare landing pads for upcoming missions to the lunar surface.
(re: Pournelle and Niven, 3/3/2009 )
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 )
EarthNow! Landsat Images Now Available
Gaze down upon the Earth from orbit like the astronauts do with this handy online viewer.
(re: Various, 12/31/2008 )
Launch-Abort Motor For NASA: The Next Generation
Testing the 'ejection seats' for the new Constellation space craft. And thanks to readers who made 2,000 SF in the News articles possible!
(re: Murray Leinster, 11/22/2008 )
Pico Satellite Swarms
These small machines will orbit the Earth sometime next year for a test run.
(re: George Lucas, 11/16/2008 )
Diamagnetic Cavity Shield For Spacecraft?
New research provides a way to protect space travelers heading out past Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 11/6/2008 )
Fishbowl Spaceship From Armadillo Aerospace
I'm sure it would be a spectacular ride, but I think I'd want a good crash couch and the Puppeteer guarantee before I went up in one.
(re: Larry Niven, 10/27/2008 )
GOCE Sat Delay Puts Off Gravimetric Weapons
A disappointing delay for the GOCE satellite.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 10/24/2008 )
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 )
Looking For Earth-Like Worlds With Nulling Interferometry
No need to go into orbit to look for Earth-like worlds, not when you have nulling interferometry on your side.
(re: Edmond Hamilton, 10/14/2008 )
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 )
ExoFly Flapping Planetary Survey Aerobot
Visionary use of the tiny DelFly micro camera plane in planetary exploration and survey is planned.
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 9/30/2008 )
Emdrive Electromagnetic Drive For Chinese Space Ships?
Is this technology a physical impossibility? The Chinese space program is determined to find out.
(re: James Blish, 9/29/2008 )
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 )
Mars Lander Spots Robby Driving In Distance
I think that these pictures beamed back from Mars last week bear closer examination.
(re: Various, 9/14/2008 )
'Water Bears' Survive Unprotected In Space
These tiny animals are a marvel, able to survive the pitiless rigors of open space.
(re: Various, 9/12/2008 )
'Virtual Space Station' NASA Software Psychologist
This software suite provides a therapist - or group therapy - on a DVD; perfect for long space voyages, which can be stressful.
(re: James Blish, 8/26/2008 )
Shock Absorbers For Orion: NASA Turns To Verne
NASA scientists are worried about excessive vibration after the launch of the Orion replacement rocket; it's an old concern.
(re: Jules Verne, 8/20/2008 )
Titan's Liquid Lakes, Beaches Proven
Exciting photos prove that Titan really does have liquid lakes and pristine beaches.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 7/31/2008 )
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 )
Fournier's 25 Mile Skydiving Hopes Dashed
After a long wait, and many years of effort, a disappointing result.
(re: Various, 5/27/2008 )
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 )
Rag Tag Space Fleets Line Up With Magnetism
How can those space fleets stay in formation without constant use of reaction mass? In space, CGI graphics can't make up for reaction mass.
(re: Various, 5/7/2008 )
Space Boomerang Toss Now On Video
Here's a cool video of successful space boomerang tossing, provided by JAXA.
(re: Various, 5/1/2008 )
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 )
'ETs Attacked Me With Meteorites' - Bosnian Man
This story is pretty hard to believe, but as long as we're looking into it, we might as well talk about kinetic energy weapons placed in orbit.
(re: Pournelle and Niven, 4/10/2008 )
Six-Legged Robot Lunar Bases Change Everything
This is a huge shift for NASA; from a fixed moon base exploration strategy, to imagining astronauts as nomadic explorers, taking their habitat with them.
(re: Various, 4/5/2008 )
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 )
NASA's Chariot Is Not Your Father's Moon Rover
NASA has a prototype of their new moon rover; take a look at the video, and consider what Clarke and Heinlein described for lunar travel.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 3/5/2008 )
Shuttle Atlantis Landing Video, As Per Heinlein
I know, this story has been covered all over, but did you know that Robert Heinlein was an early visionary on the idea of a space shuttle?
(re: Robert Heinlein, 2/20/2008 )
MoonLITE 'Mole' Penetrators For Lunar Exploration
Intriguing proposed mission between cooperating space agencies would deliver penetrating mole-like instrument packages into the lunar crust.
(re: EC Tubb, 2/20/2008 )
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 )
Antarctic ENDURANCE Robot Helps NASA Explore Europa
Get closer to Jupiter's moon Europa at the University of Wisconsin campus this week.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 2/12/2008 )
Japan To Reboot Space Program With Paper Airplanes
Who would want to drop a paper airplane out of the ISS? Japanese researchers, that's who. Includes a complimentary 'make your own origami Space Shuttle' video.
(re: Various, 1/16/2008 )
Russians Plan New Space Platform
The Russians are planning ahead for the demise of the International Space Station.
(re: E.B. White, 1/7/2008 )
Universe May End Sooner - Because We Looked
Two physicists seriously assert that we may have hastened the end of the universe because we looked too soon for dark energy.
(re: Greg Egan, 11/23/2007 )
Near-Miss Asteroid Is Found To Be Artificial
Astronomers about to announce one of the closest near-misses by an asteroid in history, make an amazing discovery.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 11/11/2007 )
Saturn And Forbidden Planet Movie Share Soundtrack
The radio emissions of Saturn captured by the Cassini spacecraft bear an uncanny resemblance to the otherworldly electronic soundtrack of the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet.
(re: Various, 11/7/2007 )
Distant Sun Has Planetary System Like Ours
Pretty soon, we'll find one enough like ours that we can start planning a trip.
(re: Various, 11/7/2007 )
Solar Power Satellites Urged By Pentagon
Scientists first speculated on this method in the 1960's, but Clifford Simak thought about it much earlier.
(re: Clifford Simak, 10/22/2007 )
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 )
Orion Emergency Egress System: Roller Coaster For Astronauts
Unfortunately, you must be at least 58.5 inches tall - sorry, kids.
(re: Various, 10/8/2007 )
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 )
MIT Tether For Walking On Asteroids
Finding a whole new meaning for the term 'asteroid belt' clever MIT researchers propose a new kind of tether.
(re: Various, 9/27/2007 )
Peruvian Meteor Sickness Diagnosed
After some investigation, scientists have solved the mystery of the Peruvian meteorite sickness.
(re: Michael Crichton, 9/26/2007 )
Twist In Saturn's Electric Ring
Unusual activity out around Saturn-way may have a more fictional explanation.
(re: L. Niven and J. Pournelle, 9/21/2007 )
Rare 'Solar Trilobite' Seen By NASA
Another striking example of a nonorganic phenomenon that amazingly resembles life.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/19/2007 )
Meteorite Brings Illness To Peruvian Village
A strange incident in Peru this past weekend has readers thinking about The Andromeda Strain.
(re: Michael Crichton, 9/18/2007 )
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 )
Galactic Suites - LEO at $4 Million Per 3 Day Stay
Finally a destination worthy of the hyperrich.
(re: Carl Sagan, 8/10/2007 )
Space Diving By Orbital Outfitters (And 'Doc' Smith)
Someday, when this has become commonplace, we'll have space diving Elvises returning from orbit.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 7/25/2007 )
Win A Trip To Outer Space!!!
That's right - a free trip to outer space. There's just one catch.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 7/25/2007 )
BioSuit Space Suit Vs. Tentacle Monsters
Looks like those science fiction movies that depicted people in skin tight space suits knew what they were doing.
(re: Manly Wade Wellman, 7/17/2007 )
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 )
Space Station Gets Shielding, Not Blasters
Sure, you can bolt on some special protective shielding against space debris. But blasters are better.
(re: Murray Leinster, 5/30/2007 )
Clarke's Inflatable Lunar Habitats Now NASA's
Arthur C. Clarke calls another one in his early novel A Fall of Moondust.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 5/27/2007 )
LOCAD-PTS Handheld Microorganism Detector
Astronauts only carry the best in hand-held instrumentation - this one is a pocket-sized biology lab.
(re: Greg Bear, 5/13/2007 )
Unwanted Life Forms Abound In Sick Spacecraft
You don't want unauthorized life forms growing in the walls of your spacecraft - but there they are!
(re: Bruce Sterling, 5/13/2007 )
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 )
Hawking Follows Path Set By Heinlein's Waldo
Stephen Hawking gets just a bit closer to Waldo's home in space.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 4/27/2007 )
New Earth Detected Around Gliese 581
Remarkable find by astronomers demonstrates that extrasolar Earth-like planets are not just fiction.
(re: Various, 4/25/2007 )
Speciation Driven By Cosmic Cycles?
Poul Anderson came up with something very similar to this idea fifty years ago.
(re: Poul Anderson, 4/24/2007 )
Deflector Shields For Spacecraft?
Interesting idea from the UK on how to protect space travelers Star Trek-style.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 4/18/2007 )
NEOImpactor Software Models Asteroid Strike Consequences
Software package estimates the impact, human and economic, of asteroid impacts.
(re: Various, 4/5/2007 )
Space Junkyard in North Hollywood
Space tech can be had cheap for pennies on the dollar at this space-age junkyard.
(re: Various, 3/26/2007 )
Green Comet Lovejoy - Cometeers Coming From Below?
Where's Giles Habibula when you need him? A green comet approaches the solar system.
(re: Jack Williamson, 3/20/2007 )
Urey Life Detector
The ESA's ExoMars will carry this device to Mars to search for life.
(re: Frank Herbert, 3/13/2007 )
Debris Cloud From Chinese ASAT A Menace To Space Lanes
Arr, best keep a weather eye for Chinese weather satellite debris whilst passing through the debris cloud...
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 2/6/2007 )
Gravity Assist Will Help Pluto-Bound Craft
Jupiter will offer NASA a real speed boost in February - who thought of how to do it first?
(re: Ray Cummings, 1/20/2007 )
PongSats - Tiny 'Satellites' At Space's Edge
Excellent program allows amateurs to send their experiments aloft.
(re: Robert Silverberg, 1/19/2007 )
Liquid Lakes On Titan Ready For Robofish
Newly available radar imaging data from Cassini's latest flyby appears to confirm it.
(re: Michael Swanwick, 1/4/2007 )
NASA Needs Fake Moondust By The Ton
NASA engineers need moondust to perfect plans for lunar return in the next decade.
(re: Various, 12/30/2006 )
Martians Could Kill Life On Earth, Says Scientist
A prominent UK scientist apparently believes that it is possible that Martian water harbors life - maybe dangerous life.
(re: H.G. Wells, 12/12/2006 )
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 )
Russia Studies Space-Elevator Clusters For Moon
Russia enters the space tether slingshot race - a 'space railway' that will reduce the cost of boosting payloads to the Moon.
(re: Various, 12/4/2006 )
Manned Asteroid Mission For Constellation Program?
Other uses are being planned for the lunar landing gear NASA already has in the works.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/17/2006 )
Space Mirrors Could Create Mars Pocket-Eden
Rigel Woida has been given funding to explore an unusual means of making Mars more comfortable for human exploration.
(re: Niven, Pournelle, Flynn, 11/15/2006 )
Space Sunshade Idea Now Worrisomely Popular
It appears that the idea of creating enormous space artifacts that will save us from global warming is starting to become mainstream.
(re: Various, 11/4/2006 )
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 )
Undergrad Proposes Asteroids As Radiation Shields
Excellent idea from a 19 year-old undergrad - and Arthur C. Clarke - could get astronauts to Mars more safely.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 10/25/2006 )
Launch Ring Magnetic Launch System By LaunchPoint
Although just in the planning stages, this could give us a twist on an old Heinlein suggestion for reaching space.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 10/6/2006 )
Boeing Thermal Protection System For Orion
Boeing will develop an ablative heat shield for the Orion space craft.
(re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith, 9/21/2006 )
Heinlein Prize Awarded To Diamandis
The first award has been made of the Heinlein Prize, a $500,000 grant for commercial space exploration.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 6/27/2006 )
Astronauts Test Star Wars Remote On Space Station
Star Wars directly inspired this NASA advanced project; the first testing was successful.
(re: George Lucas, 6/1/2006 )
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 )
Russian Response To Possible Asteroid Impact
The Russians have been studying the problem of close asteroid approaches for years.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 4/23/2006 )
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 )
'Tricorder' Ready For Mars Rover This Year
A little pocket-sized device that can instantly determine the composition of any material? Sci-fi hogwash! Or is it?
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 3/12/2006 )
'Protonic Storms' Unleashed On DNA In Space
Should astronauts watch out for the fury of protonic storms?
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 2/22/2006 )
'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 )
Liquid Mirror Telescope For Moon Studied By NASA
Liquid Mirror Telescopes are cool enough - but putting one on the moon?
(re: Raymond Z. Gallun, 2/5/2006 )
Crustaceans Help Build NASA's Exploration Skills
Can the humble crayfish teach NASA anything new? Turns out they've been evolving these methods for millions of years.
(re: Charles Stross, 1/29/2006 )
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 )
SuitSat Casual Day Satellite Update
Russian brainstorming session leads to deploying space suits as satellites.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 1/27/2006 )
NanoTerminator Prevents Annoying Space Debris Build-Up
The journal Science puts out more predictions on space junk; manga author already has the answer.
(re: Makoto Yukimura, 1/25/2006 )
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 )
Robotic Space Spiders To Crawl Sub-Orbital Web
Very cool upcoming space launch, in which minisatellites hold out a web while small space spider robots crawl in microgravity.
(re: Charles Sheffield, 12/14/2005 )
Hayabusa Spacecraft Makes Asteroid Landing
Craft lands on an asteroid just 65 years after Robert Heinlein described it in a story.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 11/24/2005 )
Liftport Closer To Space Elevator Goal
Liftport Group has moved closer to making a working space elevator this past week.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/18/2005 )
Symbiotic Sphere By Space Synapse
Art and space science combine for earthlings - a cheaper way to visit space is coming.
(re: Clifford Simak, 8/30/2005 )
Carbon Nanotube Ribbon For Space Elevator
An amazing development - real hyperfilaments just like Clarke described for building a space elevator.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/19/2005 )
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 )
Mars Telecommunications Orbiter Canceled
Bad news for this project; George O. Smith in limbo for a while longer.
(re: George O. Smith, 7/25/2005 )
Space Ring Latest Implausible Warming Solution
The journal Acta Astronautica has published what is probably the most outlandish suggestion yet to stop global warming on Earth.
(re: Stanislaw Lem, 6/29/2005 )
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 )
Traversable Wormholes And Time Machines May Not Be Usable
According to a new paper by physics researchers by Roman Buniy and Stephen Hsu, traversable wormholes and time machines cannot be both stable and predictable.
(re: Jack Williamson, 5/24/2005 )
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 )
Solar Ultrasound - Bass Note In Music Of The Spheres
Ancient cosmologiests talked about the music of the spheres. Turns out that astrophyicists have found that the Sun is putting out a constant beat - the solar ultrasound.
(re: Various, 12/12/2004 )
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 )
SMART-1's Ion Drive Not Science Fiction
SMART-1 has made it all the way to the Moon using an ion drive.
(re: Jack Williamson, 11/18/2004 )
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 )
Electrodynamic Tethers: Clean Up Debris - Power or Boost Spacecraft
An electrodynamic tether (EDT) is a simple idea, but one with an amazing number of uses. You can power your ship, speed up or slow down.
(re: David Brin, 11/5/2004 )
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 )
Leaked USAF Report Targets European GPS Satellites
A leaked report indicates that the US will attack and destroy the European Union's Galileo positioning satellites in time of war, if necessary.
(re: John Brunner, 10/26/2004 )
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 )
Personal Satellite Assistant: Servant Of Astronauts And Jedi
NASA has been working on the Personal Satellite Assistant for years. With any luck, it should be ready for use soon.
(re: George Lucas, 6/11/2004 )
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 )
ConeXpress OLEV - Will A Good Tug Save Hubble?
The ConeXpress Orbital Life Extension Vehicle (CX-OLEV) may be able to serve as a "space tug" that could extend the life of the Hubble telescope.
(re: William Gibson, 5/15/2004 )
Bradbury: Missions To Moon And Mars Will Inspire Humanity
Science Fiction Grandmaster Ray Bradbury spoke before a presidential commission reviewing American space policy - specifically, missions to Mars.
(re: Ray Bradbury, 4/18/2004 )
A First: Planet Found With Gravitational Microlensing
The first discovery of a planet around another star using gravitational microlensing was announced yesterday by two research teams - OGLE and MOA.
(re: Larry Niven, 4/16/2004 )
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 )

 

 

 

 

 

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