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"Science fiction is the very literature of change. In fact, it is the only such literature we have."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Meteor Hulls Ship | ||
| A small meteor tears all the way through a ship |
An early description of the likely result of a meteor striking a spacecraft.
 (Meteor hulls ship in 'Moon People of Jupiter' by Isaac Nathanson) A cursory examination revealed that a giant meteoroid, no doubt weighing many tons, and perhaps moving as fast as we were, had struck the “Martian” almost amidships; and at the extreme velocities with which both bodies were traveling, had torn clear through and passed out on the other side, as if the armor-steel sides of the vessel were made of paper, leaving two great gaping holes. The propulsion machinery, as well as a portion of the gravity repulsion engines, were wrecked and melted by the force of the impact. Fortunate it was that our air-purifiers and cylinders of oxygen up forward were intact, as also our stores of power in the stern of the ship. The air-tight, multicellular structure of the "Martian” prevented the entire loss of air and heat through the huge gaping holes; as otherwise we should all have been suffocated or been immediately frozen from the exposure to the intense cold of outer space. |
| Technovelgy from Moon People Of Jupiter,
by Isaac R. Nathanson. Published by Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 Additional resources -
|
Here's perhaps the earliest example, from Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898):
It was evident at a glance that the car had been struck by the meteor. How serious the damage might be we could not instantly determine. The course of our ship was immediately altered, the electric polarity was changed, and we rapidly approached the disabled car.
The men who had fallen lay upon its surface. One of the heavy circular glasses covering a window had been smashed to atoms. Through this the meteor had passed, killing two or three men who stood in its course. Then it had crashed through the opposite side of the car, and, passing on, disappeared into space. The store of air contained in the car had immediately rushed out through the openings, and when two or three of us, having donned our air-tight suits as quickly as possible, entered the wrecked car we found all its inmates stretched upon the floor in a condition of asphyxiation. They, as well as those who lay upon the exterior, were immediately removed to the flagship, restoratives were applied, and, fortunately, our aid had come so promptly that the lives of all of them were saved. But life had fled from the mangled bodies of those who had stood directly in the path of the fearful projectile.
Here's another illustrated example of a meteorite striking a ship, from Liners of Space (1930) by Jim Vanny.
A blinding flash — a terrific impact — a deafening report within the car!
The Swan was drifting aimlessly. The meteorite had only glanced off the cutter but had delivered a blow of sufficient force to disable the ship. A quick nspection showed that a large section of the nose together with part of the operating equipment had been torn away and the air in that compartment had escaped. The ship was helpless.
I had just time to think how lucky it was that the meteor did not strike any of us, when, glancing at a ship just ahead, I perceived that an accident had occurred. The ship swayed violently from its course, dazzling flashes played around it, and two or three of the men forming its crew appeared for an instant on its exterior, wildly gesticulating, but almost instantly falling prone.
(A tragedy - meteor hulls ship)
HEY charged on. And then, without warning, came a sudden strange sound from the detectors and Cameron’s warning shout. Frantically he fought with the control. Too late!
(Meteorite Impact from 'Liners of Space' by Jim Vanny)
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