Whilst I was writing this novel, I couldn’t shake the idea that a spacecraft named ‘Daedalus’ was too wonderful to be unique to this story. There’s no such thing as an original idea anymore, surely someone must have thought of it before.
It turns out I was right. Apparently, the British Interplanetary Society launched a study in the early 1970’s into the possibility of sending an unmanned probe to Barnards Star, picking up some deuterium and helium from Jupiter on the way. The probe would have taken approximately thirty years to get there at 12% light speed (36,000 kilometres per second), slightly faster than my less ambitious 40,000 kilometres per hour, which gets my Daedalus crew to Proxima in a hundred and fifteen years. Just to put things in perspective, the Cassini probe, which is currently bound for Saturn, is travelling at 18,720kph.
To add coincidence to insult (if such a transition is allowed) I also found out about the existence of the Orion Project, and suddenly there was a link between the novel I was writing, and a novel I happened to be reading at the same time. The book was Voyage by Stephen Baxter, which makes a fictional assumption about the course of the space program if Kennedy had survived the bullet in November 1963. It also explains in great and gory detail what could have happened if the US had continued building a NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) system. NERVA technology involved detonating atomic bombs behind a spacecraft to propel it forward. The theory may sound absurd but many people thought it would work, and Baxter postulated that it could have enabled us to put a man on Mars by 1986. The book is quite brilliant by the way.
Ironically, the BIS Daedalus project involved a hybrid version of the NERVA system, which would have created fusion ‘microexplosions’, caused by irradiated fuel pellets. I felt somewhat comforted by the fact that there were certain tenuous links between the names and ideas that I had used, and ideas used by others in the field.
For more information about Orion, NERVA and fusion drives, I recommend an article by Michael Flora entitled ‘Project Orion: It’s Life, Death and Possible Rebirth’ which can be found on the internet, and of course the novel ‘Voyage’ by Stephen Baxter.
In the realm of science fiction, Star Trek fans will no doubt be somewhat angered to find that I have inadvertently copied the name Daedalus from the ship USS-CAROLINA, which, apparently is a Daedalus class ship that resides in the Starfleet Museum. As I am not an avid Star Trek disciple, the coincidence was wholly unintentional.
Last but by no means least is the movie “Space Cowboys”. When I heard about this movie my face literally sank as I discovered that Clint Eastwood’s space shuttle was to be called Daedalus, and that his main character would be called Frank. This – I swear – is a blind coincidence. I’m sure Mr Eastwood had no intention of stealing my idea.
I do, however think that the name Daedalus was not utilised to its full potential in the movie, and – as my novel shows – the parallels that can be drawn between myth and reality are too enticing to overlook.
Had I known at the outset that there were other Daedalus references in the fields of science and science fiction, I probably would have taken a very different route in the planning of my story. However, as I’m sure you understand, the name of my spacecraft becomes more than just a name as the novel progresses, and once I had committed myself to using the name Daedalus, I pretty much had to stick to it.
Another coincidence. Last month, while I was travelling to work through Vauxhall in London, pondering these very things, I looked out of the window of my train, and there it was, the London office of the British Interplanetary Society. I have since become a member.
During the Hyakutake flyby, Ian and Frank use a CHAMP unit. This is homage to the seven astronauts who died in the Challenger STS51-L explosion on 28th January 1986. Part of the STS51-L mission profile was to use an experimental version of the 35mm camera unit (CHAMP stands for Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program).
That explains why I chose another comet beginning with H!
Comet Hyakutake was actually visible from Earth during 1996, but was overshadowed (if that’s the right word) by the rather more famous Halle-Bopp, which blazed across the sky in 1997. Come to think of it, maybe I could have used that comet also. But I think I prefer the name Hyakutake.
The CHAMP unit was also tested in an earlier mission STS61-C, which launched on January 12th 1986, but it encountered battery problems, which is why, on the Daedalus, Ian tells Frank that he has double-checked them.
Early in The Daedalus Transfer, there is a reference to a large planet orbiting Proxima’s star. This is widely considered to be true, and the method of detection used in the novel is also accurate for determining unseen celestial objects. However, we are not absolutely sure that there really is a planet in Proxima because the ‘gravitational wobble’ in the star is not constant. In other words, there are long periods of time where the star is not wobbling, which could either indicate no planet at all, or a planet that moves in a very eccentric orbit, which brings it close enough to star only occasionally. This theory did not suit my story, so I chose to omit it, and also threw in a few more planets for good measure. I’m pretty sure however, that by 2056 we will have a very good idea about the contents of the Proxima Centauri. Who knows, we may have even launched a crew out there by then.
The heliopause is still a thing of mystery. At the time of writing, neither the Voyager nor the Pioneer probes have made it beyond the heliosphere of our solar system, so the composition of the heliopause is still wide open to speculation. Which proves that despite the awe-inspiring size of the universe in which we live, there are many undiscovered secrets right here on our doorstep.
Huw Langridge – November 2000
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
418-Minos (Fictional): Asteroid tracked by the Daedalus while the crew are asleep on the outbound journey to Proxima Centauri.
Acute Subdural Haematoma: Medical complication which can set in after a serious head injury. Blood vessels that are located between the membranes covering the brain start to leak, causing intracranial pressure.
Adaptive Filtering: A calculation performed by remote sensing software whilst running a geological scan of a planets surface, enabling it to build a three-dimensional image of the surface out of a two-dimensional image. Also applies to “Inferogram Computations”
Aegean Sea: Body of water surrounding the Greek Islands.
AMC (Fictional): Automated Maintenance Clamp. Electronic units about 3 metres in size used to perform routine maintenance tasks on the external hulls of spacecraft.
Atmospheric Occultation: The distortion effect caused by a planet’s atmosphere, preventing waves (radio/light etc) from travelling through in a straight line.
Barotrauma: Pain caused by pressure imbalance in the inner ear, where the pressure inside the head is significantly greater or smaller than outside.
C&W Class One Emergency Tone: Caution and Warning Emergency Tone. Currently used on the International Space Station (ISS). Class One is the most dangerous (indicated by red lights) and indicates a pressure integrity breach. Space station crews are required to learn the tones and associated colours prior to boarding.
CELSS: Closed Ecological Life Support System.
Cerebral Edema: Intracranial Pressure, swelled brain tissue.
CHAMP: Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program. A 35mm camera unit designed for the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, which blew up after take-off in January 1986. The camera was intended to take photographs of Halleys comet.
Cryogenics: (Cryo) The process by which a living organism is cooled to a state where it’s development process is virtually halted. This is still a breaking science and, as far as science fiction is concerned, enables humans to travel long distances for long periods of time without ageing.
Enriched Polyvinyl Butyral Plexiglass Compound: Polyvinyl butyral is generally described in industrial literature as having great toughness, stability on exposure to sunlight, and clarity. Generally it is used for transparent surfaces of extreme strength, and is therefore ideal for use in space.
Europa: Ice covered moon of Jupiter. It is generally considered that life may exist under the surface of this moon.
EVA: Extra Vehicular Activity. Any astronaut who exits his spacecraft to perform a task (with or without the use of machinery) is performing an EVA.
FD Unit (Fictional): Freefall Doctor. A spherical device developed by Dr Jake Harding as an aid to medical officers in space. It performs most basic surgical functions.
Heliopause: Beyond the heliosphere is the heliopause. Part of the interstellar medium where no solar winds exist, because there are no stars.
Heliosphere: The spherical influence of the solar winds from a sun.
Hohmann Transfer Orbit: Physical process whereby a spaceship can travel between the planets by utilising the concept of solar orbits. By launching at the correct time, a spacecraft can traverse it’s own solar orbit, to meet another planet where the two solar paths meet.
Hubble NextGenST4 and 5 (Fictional): Postulation of the advancement of the Hubble space telescope technology. Currently in development is a Hubble NextGenST1, which will utilize a much larger mirror for deeper scanning of the star field.
Hyakutake: Not quite as famous as Halle-Bopp which came a year later, comet Hyakutake flew past our planet in Spring 1996. The comet was discovered in December 1995 by Yuji Hyakutake, a Japanese amateur comet hunter using a pair of binoculars. Hyakutake the comet is estimated to return to us in another 18,000 years. Who knows what Earth will be like then. These timings actually make it nearly impossible for the Daedalus to encounter it on its journey to Proxima, but I won’t tell if you don’t. Only 32 comets have had nearer approaches to earth than Hyakutake, in a record that dates back to the year 347.
Inferogram Computations: A calculation performed by remote sensing software whilst running a geological scan of a planets surface, enabling it to build a three-dimensional image of the surface out of a two-dimensional image. Also applies to “Adaptive Filtering”
Intracranial Pressure: Pressure built up as a result of inflamed blood vessels around the brain.
Ion Exchange Resin Unit: Used in a CELSS environment. The unit is responsible for transferring carbon dioxide exhaled by humans back into oxygen.
Ion Propulsion: A method of propelling a spacecraft by firing ionised xenon from the back of the ship at very high speeds. Ion propulsion has been around for a while, but nobody has been bold enough to employ it in a space mission. Part of the reason for this is that acceleration by it is too slow, and would therefore only be useful on long interplanetary missions.
IPV8 (Fictional): Internet Protocol Version Eight. Networking protocol used to connect computers over the Internet, consisting of a leading and closing “address-packet” which encapsulates the data. Currently, version 4 is being used, but as more and more computers are attached to the Internet, more addresses will be required. IPV6 is currently being considered. It consists of an extra two sets of numbers, much like an extended telephone number.
ISOE: Integrated Sequence of Events List. Created in advance of a space mission by the spacecraft team on the ground. Its purpose is to plot anticipated events in the mission so that they can be correlated against real-time events. This assures the flight crew that all aspects of the mission on the ground and in the spacecraft are happening according to plan.
ISS: International Space Station. Currently under construction. Different parts of the station are being built by different countries around the world. It’s anticipated completion will be 2015.
Jodrell Bank: Radio Telescope Array situated in Oxfordshire, England.
Lincoln Outpost (Fictional): Radio Telescope Array set up on the moon in the year 2040. Used for scanning deep space without hindrance from Earth’s glare.
Microgravity: It is a common misconception that when a human leaves the Earth’s atmosphere he becomes weightless. This is not true. The Earth’s gravitational influence stretches millions of miles into space. The reason a person is able to float about an orbiting spacecraft is because he is ‘falling’ around the planet. Falling so fast that he never actually lands. Because he and his spaceship are falling together at the same speed, he is able to float around his craft in apparent weightlessness. Instead of ‘weightlessness’, the correct term for this is – in fact – ‘microgravity’.
Mir: Russian Space Station launched in 1986 and deliberately crashed into the Earth's atmosphere some years later.
Nano-Cranial Implants (Fictional): Tiny electronic device that attaches directly to the brain to feed information straight into the cerebral cortex. These devices are currently being researched and will probably become widely available within the next fifty years. In his novel 3001, Arthur C. Clarke postulated that the ‘braincap’ will be fitted at birth. In Peter F Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn Trilogy, he employs “neural nanonics”. In fiction, the technology takes on many forms, but tends to achieve the same result.
NEO Rig (Fictional): Created out of the old International Space Station. The NEO Rig is a geo-synchronous space station orbiting 4210 kilometres above Northern Africa. Used as a construction and maintenance platform for space-based vehicles.
Photovoltaic: Solar power. Technology involving using solar cells to trap the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity.
Pioneer: Pioneer 10 was launched on March 2, 1972. It was the first spacecraft ever to fly though the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and it also was the first spacecraft to obtain close-up images and make direct observations of Jupiter. Pioneer 10 was equipped with instruments that enabled it to study Jupiter and Saturn's atmospheres, magnetic fields, moons, and rings. The craft made scientific investigations in the outer regions of the solar system until its mission ended on March 31, 1997. Pioneer 10 is now headed in the direction of the constellation Taurus (The Bull). It will take the Pioneer 10 probe over 2 million years to pass by one of the closest stars in the constellation.
PMC-04 (Fictional): The fourth planet to be spotted in the Proxima Centauri system, later named Mycenae.
PMC-04-A (Fictional): A small moon orbiting PMC-04.
Proxima Centauri: Solar system located 4.3 light years away from Earth.
Red Dwarf: Stars that are smaller and less luminous than our Sun. Red Dwarfs are – essentially – colder, fading white dwarfs stars. White dwarfs were named so because of the white colour of the first few that were discovered, and are characterised by a low luminosity, a mass close to that of the Sun, and a radius comparable to that of the Earth. Because of their large mass and small dimensions, such stars are dense and compact objects with average densities approaching 1,000,000 times that of water.
TCM: Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre. A controlled thrust burst used by a spacecraft to maintain an intended flight path in space.
Trizoliphium-i3a (Fictional): Drug used to prevent calcium deficiency, heart shrinkage and bone degradation in astronauts exposed to a prolonged weightless environment.
Very Large Array: Radio Telescope Array in New Mexico used for deep space research.
Voyager: Probe launched by NASA in 1977. It was sent towards the outer planets in the solar system using a Hohmann Transfer Orbit. It sent back the first close up pictures of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, advancing our knowledge of these planets a long way. It is currently on it’s way out of the solar system and will continue to send data back to Earth until it suffers a complete power failure in 2016, after which it will continue as a piece of space junk.
Wormhole: Theoretical anomaly in science. A gateway in space-time that links two remote parts of the universe, allowing anything that passes through it to jump to the ‘exit’ in a fraction of a second. Often used in fiction as a plot device to serve as a means of travelling across vast distances in space quickly. Also known as a ‘white-hole’. It should be noted that – scientifically speaking – the amount of energy required to make such a jump through a wormhole would pulverise anyone daring enough to attempt such a journey!
Xenon: An odorless, colorless, tasteless, non-toxic gas, which is chemically inert. Xenon gas is principally shipped and used in gaseous form for light bulbs, window insulation, ion propulsion and medical applications.
Zeoponics: A synthetic, inorganic highly reactive soil used for plant growth in microgravity using ‘zeolite substrates’. Zeoponics growth methods are currently under research. Plant growth experiments have been conducted to determine economics of plant production in zeoponics systems compared with other plant growth systems (e.g. hydroponics).
The spaceship concept images on the contents page and during the novel are provided by Jason Chapman. Click here to visit his website.
"I am fascinated by the concept of space travel especially deep space. I'm not a trekkie or anything, but I do like the ideals that Trek lays out about exploring our galaxy, and I do plan to see the new film. I also like the concept of us not being alone in the universe, and I don't base my beliefs on tabloid stories but NASA's interest in finding life out there. If they believe then they must have some sort of scientific evidence to base their research on."
Jason Chapman
If you enjoyed The Daedalus Transfer, check out my new science-fiction book Schaefer's Integrity which is now available to buy.
