Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"At its best, SF is the medium in which our miserable certainty that tomorrow will be different from today in ways we can't predict, can be transmuted to a sense of excitement and anticipation, occasionally evolving into awe."
- John Brunner
 |
| Cylinder Space Suit | ||
| A mostly rigid, cylindrical space suit. |
Yet another creative effort to describe a different kind of space suit; see the links at the end for references to other unusual space suits. Here's what it looks like from the outside:
And this will give you a bit more details.
It was a tiny cylinder, just big enough
to hold a man— and it did hold a man, for I could see
his head through the plastic panels covering one end
of the device. Long, jointed arms projected from the
machine's body, and it was trailing a thin cable behind it. I could just make out the faint, misty jet of the tiny
rocket motor which propelled this miniature space-
ship.
| We stood in front of the great circular door,
resting snugly on its rubber gaskets, which led into the
outer emptiness. Clamped to the walls around us were
the space suits, and I looked at them longingly. It had
always been one of my ambitions to wear one and to
become a tiny, self-contained world of my own...
To most people, the word "space suit" conjures up a picture of something like a diving dress, in which a man can walk and use his arms. Such suits are, of course, used on places like the moon. But on a space station, where there's no gravity, your legs aren't much use anyway, because outside you have to blow yourself round with tiny rocket units. For this reason, the lower part of the suit was simply a rigid cylinder. When I climbed inside it, I found that I could use my feet only to work some control pedals, which I was careful not to touch. There was a little seat, and a transparent dome covering the top of the cylinder gave me good visibility. I could use my hands and arms. Just below my chin there was a neat little control panel with a tiny keyboard and a few meters. If I wanted to handle anything outside, there were flexible sleeves through which I could push my arms. They ended in gloves which, although they seemed clumsy, enabled one to carry out quite delicate operations. Tim threw some of the switches on my suit and clamped the transparent dome over my head. I felt rather like being inside a coffin with a view.
 (Islands in the Sky) |
| Technovelgy from Islands in the Sky,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Not known in 1952 Additional resources -
|
Don't miss the space-walkers from The Universe Wreckers (1930) by Edmond Hamilton.
Compare to these other early space suit references;
the air-tight suit from Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898) by Garrett P. Serviss, the pneumatic suit from The Shot into Infinity (1929) by Otto Willi Gail, the space suit from The Emperor of the Stars (1931) by Schachner and Zagat, the altitude suit from The Black Star Passes by John W. Campbell, the Osprey Space Armor from Salvage in Space (1933) by Jack Williamson, the space overalls from Lost Rocket (1941) by Manly Wade Wellman and the space bubble from The Planet Strappers (1961) by Raymond Z. Gallun.
See also the Bubble Armor Space Suit from Agent of Vega (1949) by James Schmitz.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Islands in the Sky
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Islands in the Sky
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Cylinder Space Suit-related
news articles:
- Testing The Single-Person Spacecraft
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
| Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution |
| Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri |
| The First Space Warship For Space Force |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
