![]() Like the Enterprise, Mir flew only in space, never approaching any planet with an atmosphere. It was not the world’s first space station, but it did have some unique features that in some ways were a fulfillment of the Star Trek vision nearly two decades before. The consoles are clean and have none of the papers and even ash trays seen, for example, at the consoles of the Mission Control Room at the Johnson Spaceflight Center during the Apollo era.īeginning in 1986, reality caught up with fiction in the form of the Soviet, later Russian, Mir space station. Borrowing from the Navy tradition, it is truly “shipshape.” No dirt, no clutter. If no one is blocking the Metro doors, they also make a reassuring sound as they open and close.Īlong with the sliding doors in Star Trek is the clean, uncluttered look of the starship Enterprise. The Metro cars definitely look like they came from the space age in 1976, when the Metro opened, and when the Moon landings were still a part of people’s collective memory. The Metro doors are slightly curved, presumably to give the cars more structural strength, but they also look pretty cool, too, even if they are a bit long in the tooth these days. I noticed that in a number of these episodes the crew members approach a sliding door, which automatically opens with a slight “whoosh!” then closes behind them, much like they do on the Washington Metro. With the Star Trek starship Enterprise studio model now on display in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, I find myself watching the show with increased interest. ![]() ![]() When the original series was shown, between 19, I hardly ever saw any episodes, as I did not own a television at the time, never mind color. I was reminded of this the other night, as I was surfing through television channels and came across a “retro” channel that was showing original episodes of Star Trek, in glorious high-definition color on my big-screen digital set. That recorded voice is typically followed by another stern voice, “STAND CLEAR OF THE DOORS!” It doesn’t seem to do much good there are always one or two passengers who insist on standing in front of the doors, blocking the way for those who wish to get on or off. Those of us from the Washington, DC region recognize that phrase whenever we ride the Washington Metro. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |