Ironies about "real" science fiction
>> Friday, April 9, 2010
Two days just on the one novel, but real progress. I'm making good progress so I won't worry about what I'm not doing on the other. Straight science fiction, it's kind of fun because this bit is all about the technical details of orbital mechanics.
Not for the non-SF freaks, more than likely, but those that are will love it. It's kind of interesting that, as a rocket scientist, I so rarely actually do the hard science fiction, because it's interesting and, of course, I have a real feel for the physics.
I also have countless hours of console work in NASA to draw from. (I had a scene where I followed protocols and command team patterns in Beast Within during a spacecraft crash, but many complained about the technical dialog. Lee loved it but it wasn't in keeping with the rest of the novel so I took it out. Strangely, someone who'd read just that bit complained that "real spacefarers" would never talk that way. *Sigh*)
Ironically, unlike the other scene, this isn't how astronauts and ground control talk at all, so, of course, I suspect people will like it just fine.
