''Battlestar Galactica'': Human vs. Cylon is a pair of

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

dueling roller coaster A dual-tracked roller coaster is a roller coaster that consists of two tracks. They can be configured as racing, dueling, or Möbius loop roller coasters. Some dual-track coasters operate only one track side at a time, including Rolling Thunde ...

s at

Universal Studios Singapore Universal Studios Singapore (abbreviation: USS) is a theme park located within the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort at Sentosa in Singapore. It features 24 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It is one of the five U ...

. One of the coasters is an

inverted roller coaster An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster wa ...

track in blue (gray from 2017 onwards), and the other half is a traditional seated roller coaster in red. The coasters, which opened in 2010 and was inactive between 2013 and 2015, reach in height and are the tallest dueling coasters in the world. Universal Studios Singapore is the only Universal Studios amusement park to have a

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

roller coaster. It was the first

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...

coaster, after the

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

, to feature four-abreast seating that is similar to coasters by

Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...

Coasters

The roller coaster

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

are launched from the start of their lift hill (used to be launched from the station) at high speed instead of the traditional chain lift.

Linear Synchronous Motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristicall ...

s (LSM) are used for high-acceleration speed during launching. Similar to the now-defunct

Dragon Challenge Dragon Challenge, formerly named Dueling Dragons (1999–2010), was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Designed by Bolliger & M ...

at Universal's

Islands of Adventure Universal Islands of Adventure, often shortened to Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It originally opened as Universal Studios Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part ...

, these coasters feature several near collisions mere inches apart. Part of the ride took place over the park's central lagoon. The coasters are the tallest dueling coaster in the world at .

''Battlestar Galactica'': Cylon

The Cylon coaster is a coaster designed like the

Cylon Raider The Cylons () are a race of sentient robots in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' science fiction franchise, whose primary goal is the extermination of the human race. Introduced in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), 1978 television s ...

suspended from the track with legs free that performs intense manoeuvres that includes five inversions, a

cobra roll Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...

, a

corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...

, a

vertical loop The generic roller coaster vertical loop, also known as a Loop-the-loop, or a Loop-de-loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, rid ...

and a

zero-g roll Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical operation and safety ...

. The Cylon coaster also plunges into a deep pit filled with artificial fog to give thrill seekers the sensation of a near miss with the ground. It also includes sudden turns close to buildings emphasising the sensation of a near miss. Before the ride starts, a short monologue spoken by a robotic voice states “This has all happened before. This will all happen again.”

Ride description

The ride is a suspended coaster capable of reaching speeds up to 51.0 mph (82.1 km/h) and has 5 inverted parts.

''Battlestar Galactica'': Human

Pre-show

The queue for the Human ride firstly is a narrow walkway. The riders enter the ride building where Galactica Actual and Cag Starbuck explain the mission. Then the riders are loaded into the trains. Upon departure, the riders hear the dialogue, "Happy Hunting. So say we all."

Ride description

The Human coaster is designed like the Colonial Mark II Viper for riders who want a roller coaster experience without inversions. According to Universal Studios Singapore engineers, riders on the Human track experience more

G-force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

s than those on the Cylon track. At certain points in the ride, the coaster reaches speed of up to .

History

Battlestar Galactica Universal Studios Singapore entrance

On 18 March 2010, ''Battlestar Galactica'': Human vs. Cylon was one of the 16 attractions that opened during Universal Studios Singapore's soft opening. A week after its opening, Universal Studios Singapore identified a problem in a ride vehicle during routine testing. The ride closed for repair on 25 March 2010. Both rides remained closed for about 11 months thereafter. In August 2010,

Resorts World Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa (abbreviation: RWS) is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, which is located off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions within RWS include one of Singapore's two casinos, Universal Studios Singapore ...

publicly addressed the reason for closure of the ride, stating that the problem lies with the design of the ride vehicles and not the track layout. Higher than anticipated stress and vibration levels caused fatigue cracks to develop in the seat-post supports of the "Human" coaster car. The redesigned component was to eliminate the weld entirely and was also to be installed with additional strength-reinforcement parts. Extensive ride testing cycles and inspections were conducted, as the ride needed to be re-certified before it reopened to the public. In early February 2011, Universal Studios Singapore announced the rides would re-open on 21 February 2011. On 21 December 2010, ''Battlestar Galactica'': Human vs. Cylon entered the final testing stage with newly reinforced cars for both the "Human" and "Cylon" coasters. On 4 February 2011, the ride was opened unofficially for "technical rehearsals", with the ride officially reopening as planned on 21 February 2011. On 21 July 2013, the ride was closed again for review. More than a year passed before Resorts World Sentosa announced, in November 2014, that Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon would reopen in early 2015 with new trains. On 25 May 2015, Universal Studios Singapore announced that the ride will return with all-new ride vehicles on 27 May 2015. The ride was officially reopened as planned two days later, with the ride vehicles being changed from four-abreast seating to two-abreast seating. On 6 April 2016 riders were stuck for about an hour when a technical error occurred on the ride.

References

{{Authority control 2010 establishments in Singapore Amusement rides based on television franchises Battlestar Galactica Outer space in amusement parks Roller coasters in Singapore Roller coasters introduced in 2010 Roller coasters operated by Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Destinations & Experiences attractions by name Universal Studios Singapore

Coasters

''Battlestar Galactica'': Cylon

Ride description

''Battlestar Galactica'': Human

Pre-show

Ride description

History

See also

References