Battlestar Galactica Shut Down
Thursday, 25th March 2010
Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon is a pair of steel, dueling roller coasters at Universal Studios Singapore. One half of the ride features an inverted roller coaster track in blue, and the other half features the traditional seated roller coaster track design in red. At 42.5 metres, Battlestar Galactica is the tallest dueling coaster in the world. Both coasters were closed due to a technical glitch in one of the rides, barely a week after it opened. The cause for the grounding of the Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters was revealed to be cracks found in the welded joint of the seat-post supports of the Human coaster car.
Flickr Photo Credit: chooyutshing
The Battlestar Galactica roller coaster trains are launched from their stations at high speed instead of the traditional chain lift. Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) are used for high-acceleration speed during launching. These coasters featured several near collisions mere inches apart. Additionally, part of the ride takes place over the park's central lagoon.