History
This spaceship is founded on solidly conceived, yet unrealized science. One major concession was made in her appearance for the purpose of reducing confusion, and this was to eliminate the huge cooling "wings" which would be needed to radiate the heat produced by her hypothetical thermonuclear propulsion system. The producer and director Stanley Kubrick thought that the audiences might interpret the wings as meaning that the spacecraft was intended to fly through an atmosphere.
The Discovery One was named after Captain Robert Scott's sailing ship RRS Discovery, which was launched in 1901. Writer Arthur C. Clarke used to visit this ship when she was moored in London. She shares her name with a real spacecraft, the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).
Read more about this topic: Discovery One
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of medicine is the history of the unusual.”
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“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
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“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)