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"I went [to the top of] Vehicle Assembly Building and looked down, and tears burst from my eyes. The size of this cathedral where the Rockets take off to go to the moon is so amazing."
- Ray Bradbury
 |
| Operation Cleanup | ||
| The program that removed space debris in LEO that could harm the space elevator. |
The Fountains of Paradise is a great example of Clarke's writing style; great difficulties accompany any great enterprise, but the calm application of the scientific method and sound engineering principles will always prevail.
| For two hundred years, satellites of all shapes and sizes, from loose nuts and bolts to entire space villages, had been accumulating in Earth orbit. All that came below the extreme elevation of the Tower, at any time, now had to be accounted for, since they created a possible hazard. Three-quarters of this material was abandoned junk, much of it long forgotten. Now it had to be located, and somehow disposed of.
Fortunately, the old orbital forts were superbly equipped for this task. Their radars - designed to locate oncoming missles at extreme ranges with no advance warning - could easily pinpoint the debris of the early Space Age. Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites, while the larger ones were nudged into higher and harmless orbits. |
| From The Fountains of Paradise,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Ballantine in 1978 Additional resources -
|
Clarke isn't kidding about the problem of space debris; it has been a known problem since the sixties. Clarke had one possible solution; fortunately, no orbiting fortresses with lasers have been placed in orbit (as far as we know!). Take a look at Terminator Tether - Electrodynamic Tether Solution to Space Debris for a more modern solution. If you want to know the next big piece coming your way, check out the Upcoming Reentries page.
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Fountains of Paradise
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to The Fountains of Paradise
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Operation Cleanup-related
news articles:
- Terminator Tether - EDT Solution To Space Debris Update
- NanoTerminator Prevents Annoying Space Debris Build-Up
- Debris Cloud From Chinese ASAT A Menace To Space Lanes
- Space Debris Cleanup Suggestions Ignored
- Laser Thruster 'Tractor Beams' For Space Junk
- Space Junk-Eating Pod-Craft
- CleanSpace One Goal: De-Orbit Space Debris
- Space Debris Cleanup - Use Harpoons Or Gas Clouds?
- Could Ground-Based Lasers De-Orbit Space Junk?
- Australians To Zap Space Junk Ala Arthur C. Clarke
- Tracking Spinning Space Junk
- Zap Space Debris With Telescope Laser On ISS
- New Laser Space Debris Clearing More Subtle Than Clarke's
- Nifty New SDS Space Debris Sensor For ISS
- Elon Musk Tweets Versions Of Clarke's Operation Cleanup
| A Floating Cosmodrome |
| Space-Based Solar Power Roundup |
| 'Aerogel' Sheets For Martian Gardens |
| Michelin Self-Sealing Tires On Ford's Explorer |
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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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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'The planes flew continuously, twenty-four hours a day...'
'It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.'
'...a single perfectly level platform, which rose so high above the water that it was not splashed by the waves.'
'Is an extra-factual memory that convincing?' Quail asked.
Megastructures have repair robots, which have repair robots, ad infinitum.
‘She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew...’
Perfect for clot-busting in the human brain. No Raquel Welch and no lasers, though.
