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"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Space Shuttle | ||
| A space-going vessel for trips from the surface of a planet to a ship in orbit, and back. |
As far as I know, this is the earliest reference to a "space shuttle".
| The sleek, tapered space shuttle lay immobile upon the private landing field, her steel hull gleaming in the moonlight. Some twenty smartly dressed men and women were visible through the vessel's wide windows. Seated in rows, like the passengers of a twentieth century airliner, they laughed, joked, sipped drinks...
"As for the ship" - he motioned to the space speedster - "it is owned by the club for the purpose of taking parties of our members for short pleasure cruises..." Some seven hours later the enthusiasm had died down. Many of the passengers slept, some played cards, others discussed in an undertone what they planned when they reached their destination. Already the speedster was decelerating,although so far nothing was visible in the blue-black darkness. Suddenly a mutter ran along the aisle. Faint, ridiculously small rocket blasts cut the gloom far ahead; a string of all but invisible lights,like a necklace of glowing beads. Clearer and clearer with each second they loomed, as the speedster raced toward them. The shape of a huge ship began to come into view; rows of lighted windows, the occasional thrust of a lazy rocket blast. With consummate skill the speedster slid alongside the huge craft... Magnetic grapnels shot out, drawing the two ships together. An air-tight, enclosed gangway clamped over the speedster's airlock, and a moment later the eager passengers had boarded the larger vessel. |
| Technovelgy from Hell Ship of Space,
by Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.. Published by Amazing Stories in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the shuttle from Stars are Styx (1950) by Theodore Sturgeon, the shuttle ship and Winged Rocket Shuttle from Heinlein's 1951 novel Between Planets, the JAL shuttle from Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer and the Clarke Spaceplane from A Quantum Murder (1998) by Peter F. Hamilton.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Hell Ship of Space
More Ideas
and Technology by Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.
Tech news articles related to Hell Ship of Space
Tech news articles related to works by Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.
Space Shuttle-related
news articles:
- PD Aerospace Space Plane By 2023
| Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message |
| China Wants To Build Mega Space Ships |
| Dream Of Building Your Own Rocket? |
| Used Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Will Fly Again |
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'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
