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
"We didn't have a telephone and our family until I was about 15, in high school."
- Ray Bradbury
 |
| Hybrid Mass Driver | ||
| A device for launching space craft on the first stage of a journey to space. |
How to get to the Moon?
| IT WAS ONE OF THOSE GLORIOUS EVENINGS so common in the Pikes Peak region, after a day in which the sky has been well scrubbed by thunderstorms. The track of the catapult crawled in a straight line up the face of the mountain, whole shoulders having been carved away to permit it. At the
temporary space port, still raw from construction, Harriman, in company with visiting notables, was saying good-bye to the passengers and crew of the Mayflower.
The crowds came right up to the rail of the catapult. There was no need to keep them back from the ship; the jets would not blast until she was high over the peak. Only the ship itself was guarded, the ship and the gleaming rails... The outer door was closed; ready lights winked along the track and from the control tower. A siren sounded. Harriman moved a step or two closer. "There she goes!" It was a shout from the whole crowd. The great ship started slowly, softly up the track, gathered speed, and shot toward the distant peak. She was already tiny by the time she curved up the face and burst into the sky. She hung there a split second, then a plume of light exploded from her tail. Her jets had fired. Then she was a shining light in the sky, a ball of flame, then-nothing. She was gone, upward and outward, to her rendezvous with her tankers. |
| From The Man Who Sold The Moon,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Shasta in 1950 Additional resources -
|
Here’s another brief quote:
See the entry for mass driver catapult for a Moon-based (a non-hybrid) system.
If you had a decent catapult you could put a single stage chem-powered rocket into an orbit around the Earth, couldn't you?
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Man Who Sold The Moon
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to The Man Who Sold The Moon
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Hybrid Mass Driver-related
news articles:
- SpinLaunch SubOrbital Accelerator
| Japan's LignoSat Space Wood Satellite And Dan Simmons' Treeship |
| Is It Time For Lunar Farside Telescopes? |
| Spaceflight Vertigo Solved By NASA Releasing The Kraken |
| Lunar Pogo Stick - Retro Technovelgy From 1968 |
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
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
'Do you know what window washing used to cost by the hour?'
'Once the target is confirmed, it uses an IR laser to send a coded signal back to the parent, clearing it to attack.'
'I filled your bullet hole with flesh putty and the lattice.'
'... it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the moon.'
'From the tower's huge octagonal base radiate wide silvery strips...'
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.'
'The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software...'
