4 ms·

There was a bit in the series "The Expanse" about a what's called "Epstein Drive" where some guy invents a propulsion tech based on fusion and he losts control

There was a bit in the series "The Expanse" about a what's called "Epstein Drive" where some guy invents a propulsion tech based on fusion and he losts control of his aircraft under an ever-increasing acceleration. After some minutes, his body gets crushed under its own weight before he could reach the controls and slow the spaceship down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lS_WxQ3zeU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lS_WxQ3zeU

Terr_ 22d ago
Yeah, certainly a reason to have failsafe timers and dead-man switches when testing new things. While I did read The Expanse, when I think of that class of dangers, what pops to my mind is an old short story Neutron Star (1966) [0]. A financially desperate pilot is hired to discover what killed some researchers while leaving the indestructible starship hull intact... and the thrusters off. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_Star_(short_story) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_Star_(short_story)
- zem 22d ago
  there was an interesting retcon of that story in one of niven's later works, where it was pointed out that any spacefaring race would know instantly what killed him. it was just better PR to pretend that it was a huge mystery, and that their hull wasn't vulnerable to some stupidly obvious danger but rather to something no one could have foreseen.
- dotancohen 21d ago
  > failsafe timers and dead-man switches when testing new things. Aircraft and spacecraft are more than anything, mass constrained. Such failsafes are welcome in software, but neither the bleeding-edge engineers not even the test pilots would support adding failsafe mass if it would affect the tests.
- xelxebar 21d ago
  Thanks for the Niven reference. Neutron Star was a fun read. I'm currently working through a collection of 80s SF shorts[0]. It's an entertaining lens into the narratives mores of the time, and or own in contrast. [0]:https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB07948947 https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB07948947
deleted 22d ago
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Terr_ 22d ago

Yeah, certainly a reason to have failsafe timers and dead-man switches when testing new things. While I did read The Expanse, when I think of that class of dangers, what pops to my mind is an old short story Neutron Star (1966) [0]. A financially desperate pilot is hired to discover what killed some researchers while leaving the indestructible starship hull intact... and the thrusters off. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_Star_(short_story) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_Star_(short_story)

zem 22d ago
there was an interesting retcon of that story in one of niven's later works, where it was pointed out that any spacefaring race would know instantly what killed him. it was just better PR to pretend that it was a huge mystery, and that their hull wasn't vulnerable to some stupidly obvious danger but rather to something no one could have foreseen.
dotancohen 21d ago
> failsafe timers and dead-man switches when testing new things. Aircraft and spacecraft are more than anything, mass constrained. Such failsafes are welcome in software, but neither the bleeding-edge engineers not even the test pilots would support adding failsafe mass if it would affect the tests.
xelxebar 21d ago
Thanks for the Niven reference. Neutron Star was a fun read. I'm currently working through a collection of 80s SF shorts[0]. It's an entertaining lens into the narratives mores of the time, and or own in contrast. [0]:https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB07948947 https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB07948947

deleted 22d ago

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