ORBITAL VECTOR

The Speculative Technology Database


This site is meant to be an online encyclopedia for the technology of the future. Technology that may exist ten years or ten centuries from now, as imagined by scientists, engineers, authors, and artists alike.

Orbital Vector is a work in progress dedicated to collecting and cataloging speculative technology ideas, and to function as a bridge between real science and science fiction for the non-scientist. On the hub pages and articles, technology is arranged from lowest tech to highest, so that the further down the page you scroll, the deeper into the future you go.

Using This Site

Click on the following sections to get the most out of your visit to Orbital Vector.

Author's Page

Site News

Essays

FAQ

Tech Levels

Alphabetical
Index

Contact

Links

Donate

SPACE

ORBITAL TRAVEL From Earth to Space and back again.
DEEP SPACE PROPULSION Tooling around the Solar Sytem.
INTERSTELLAR FLIGHT Crossing the vast gulfs between the stars.
FTL Outracing a beam of light.
SPACE STRUCTURES Outposts in the Great Dark.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space technologies unique to their locales.

MEGASTRUCTURES

MEGASTRUCTURES Constructs that challenge the scale of the universe.

AQUATIC

AQUATIC Exploring and exploiting watery environments.

MEDICAL

DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS Reading the human body.

MILITARY

MISC. WEAPONS Armament oddballs.
NON-LETHAL WEAPONS Taking out the enemy without killing.
FIREARMS The small arms of the future.
TACTICAL WEAPONS Artillery and vehicle weapons.
SPACE WEAPONS Warfare on the High Frontier.
DEFENSES & COUNTERMEASURES Protective Measures.

POWER

POWER Energy production, transfer, and storage.


RECENT ADDITIONS

Tech Levels of Science Fiction Groups And Cultures (Essays, revised 5/29/08)

Site News (updated 3/08/08)

Nuclear Force Manipulators (Defenses & Countermeasures, added 2/24/08)

Plasma Shields (Defenses & Countermeasures, added 2/07/08)

Sandcasters (Defenses & Countermeasures, added 1/30/08)

Electrostatic Defense Field (Defenses & Countermeasures, added 1/20/08)

Electromagnetic Defense Field (Defenses & Countermeasures, added 1/17/08)

Anti-Mine Dart Bomb (Tactical Weapons, added 1/08/08)

Lightsabers (Misc. Weapons, added 1/07/08)

Space-Based Solar Thermal Power (Power, added 1/03/08)

Particle Beam Weapons (Firearms/Tactical Weapons/SpaceWeapons, added 12/26/07)

Further Notes On Tech Levels (Essays, added 12/05/07)

Diverted Asteroid Satellite (Solar System/Asteroids And Comets, added 11/28/07)

Hunters In The Great Dark (Essays, added 11/18/07)

Space-Based Sunshades (Space Structures, added 11/18/07)

Flying Wind Turbines (Power, added 11/10/07)

Sea Orbiter (Aquatic, added 11/07/07)