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To: moose07; CatherineofAragon; Darksheare; Dead Corpse; Monkey Face; Tax-chick
"Or Crash-lands into the cargo hold at an intersection when the Flying castle cuts you up on a Traffic Island!"

If that happens, it's your own fault for careening through the Asteroid Belt at such breakneck speed.

That said, "landing" on the Flying Castle takes a skilled pilot. The best technique is to approach the axis of rotation along a parallel course. Once you've hung your overcoat on the coat-hook, you can cut power and accustom yourself to the station's artificial gravity, which on the Thrust Ring is about that of Earth's moon.

Taking transport to one of the Habs; the Flying Castle Habitat; Hab One (Are We There Yet?); or Hab Two (He's Touching Me!); gets you a doubling of the artificial gravity, up to Mars level.

The three Habitats are linked together through the Thrust Ring, and rotate around its center, which is currently parked on an asteroid we named Plymouth. We've been harvesting what material we could from the asteroid, and some of our more ambitious residents have been manufacturing things with it.

There's always something to do out here. Part of that comes from each habitat being on its own time zone, eight hours different from its neighbors. It's always night, and it's always morning somewhere. Breakfast is served twenty-four/seven. And so is dinner, and the appropriate aperitifs.

You get from one place to another by riding a spherical elevator car. Most rides take a couple of minutes, and during the journey, the car slowly rotates so that it will be in the correct orientation when the eyelid doors open.

346 posted on 03/16/2013 12:02:58 PM PDT by NicknamedBob (Going viral -- Put your faith in your Church, and your doubt in your Government's "Good Works".)
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To: NicknamedBob; moose07; CatherineofAragon; Darksheare; Dead Corpse; Monkey Face; Tax-chick
"The best technique is to approach the axis of rotation along a parallel course."

I need to define that a little better. It sounds wrong.

What I meant was that your shuttle should be oriented toward the axis of rotation, as you slide sideways along the circumference of the Thrust Ring. The capture protocol results in a bit of a lurch, as the landing gear get snagged like a softball being caught in a catcher's mitt.

It sounds a bit awkward, but it has worked well enough, and it preserves the landing gear for a rolling stop on an actual planet, (such as one of our double-secret, zip-your-lips-and-never-say-anything trade missions to Earth).

348 posted on 03/16/2013 12:17:51 PM PDT by NicknamedBob (Going viral -- Put your faith in your Church, and your doubt in your Government's "Good Works".)
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To: NicknamedBob; Darksheare
it's your own fault for careening through the Asteroid Belt at such breakneck speed.

Harrumph...I'd been braking since halfway from Alpha Centauri.
Coming through the Asteroid belt ,sub-light speed, set the Navicomp for re-entry over China and a landing at Gatwick Airport.
Next thing ,crunch all airbags deployed and Kudzu entangling everything.
Out of the Darkness came a voice.....Would you like a coffee?

349 posted on 03/16/2013 12:18:50 PM PDT by moose07 (the truth will out ,one day. liberals and logic: Never confuse the two! Hi MI# !)
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To: NicknamedBob

As usual, Bob, your Habitat Manual is alive and well and in real time. I’m lucky if I can remember where the Library is. I still miss the caterwauling from the catwalk...it sort of kept me focused on where I was and where I had to go when I left the Library.

Thanks for the reminder. You are irreplacable. *hug*


351 posted on 03/16/2013 12:22:32 PM PDT by Monkey Face (In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. ~ Ben Franklin)
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To: NicknamedBob; moose07; CatherineofAragon; Dead Corpse; Monkey Face; Tax-chick

The barrier net landing was a perfectly viable way to break pursuit.
Honest.

And note that the shuttle was undamaged except for the paint.
And a few shaken up passengers.


365 posted on 03/16/2013 12:54:45 PM PDT by Darksheare (Try my coffee, first one's free.....)
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