"We must ride the lightning": Robert Heinlein and American spaceflight

I have been catching up on reading Science Fiction and now engrossed in
Robert A. Heinlein's "STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND"

July 7th would make Heinlein a 100 years old if he were still alive.
There is an article at 'thespacereview' about Robert Heinlein by Dwayne
A. Day posted Monday, July 2, 2007.
- LRK -

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"We must ride the lightning": Robert Heinlein and American spaceflight
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This weekend marks the centennial of the birth of Robert Heinlein, a
science fiction author whose works have served as an inspiration to
many who have pursued careers in the space industry.  Dwayne Day
examines a memo written by Heinlein over 60 years ago that outlined
his belief in the promise of rocketry and spaceflight.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/901/1

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Maybe you have read Heinlein's "THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS".
http://www.tor-forge.com/themoonisaharshmistress
http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Harsh-Mistress-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0312863551/

Many things to consider when we look at how far apart we are from what
we want and what is.
- LRK -

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http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/106/failure_vs_success.htm
Failures are the Stuff out of Which Success is Made
IN FOCUS:by Peter Kokh
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In his classic "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", Robert A. Heinlein coined
the epithet "tanstaafl", actually an acronym of "There Ain't No Such
Thing As A Free Lunch." Tanstaafl applies to success as to anything else
that is desirable. In the end, we have to pay for it. And the coin is
not only hard work and careful research and preparation and talent
honing etc. The coin is frequently prior failures.

Putting in place the various paving blocks of the road to space is no
different from any other endeavor. But in that the task is very complex,
inter-involved, and largely beyond currently pedestrian technology, we
can expect the failure to success ratio to be higher than most other
avenues of endeavor.
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Will be interesting to see how our adventures to the Moon will turn out.
- LRK -

Some other links about Robert A. Heinlein posted below.

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein

>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert A. Heinlein

Heinlein signing autographs at the 1976 Worldcon
Born: July 7, 1907
Flag of United States Butler, Missouri
Died: May 8, 1988
Flag of United States Carmel, California
Occupation(s): Novelist, short story author, essayist, screenwriter
Genre(s): Science fiction, Fantasy
Literary movement: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Debut work(s): Life-Line
Magnum opus: Stranger in a Strange Land
Influences: H. G. Wells, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Rudyard Kipling
Influenced: Allen Steele, Spider Robinson, George R. R. Martin, Larry
Niven, Jerry Pournelle, John Varley

Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 � May 8, 1988) was one of the most
popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard" science
fiction. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility
that few have equaled, and helped to raise the genre's standards of
literary quality. He was the first writer to break into mainstream
general magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s
with unvarnished science fiction. He was among the first authors of
bestselling novel-length science fiction in the modern mass-market era.
For many years, Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were known
as the "Big Three" of science fiction.[1]

The major themes of his work were social: radical individualism,
libertarianism, religion, the relationship between physical and
emotional love, speculation about unorthodox family relationships, and
the influence of space travel on human cultural practices. His
iconoclastic approach to these themes led to wildly divergent
perceptions of his works. For example, his 1959 novel Starship Troopers
was widely viewed as glorifying militarism. By contrast, his 1961 novel
Stranger in a Strange Land put him in the unexpected role of pied piper
to the sexual revolution and the counterculture.

Heinlein won four Hugo Awards for his novels. In addition, fifty years
after publication, three of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos" �
awards given retrospectively for years in which no Hugos had been
awarded. He also won the first Grand Master Award given by the Science
Fiction Writers of America for lifetime achievement.

In his fiction, Heinlein coined words that have become part of the
English language, including "grok", "TANSTAAFL" and "waldo."

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http://www.heinleinsociety.org/
The Heinlein Society exists to preserve the legacy renowned writer
Robert Anson Heinlein left us in novels, essays, speeches, and short
stories that remain as fresh as ever. We need your help to do it.

We intend in Heinlein's words to "PAY IT FORWARD," since we can never
pay back the benefits we got from him, by spreading the wisdom of Robert
Anson Heinlein to others.

The Heinlein Society has established programs to: Place the books of
Robert Heinlein in libraries everywhere, especially in school libraries
where his juvenile novels may continue to help to form character and
provoke critical and intelligent thinking among our young people

Award scholarships and grants to worthy young people.

Assist in disseminating the works of Robert Heinlein into new languages
and formats

Promote annual Heinlein blood drives

Explore the possibility of accurate and true to book renditions of
Robert Heinlein's stories to film and other media

Promote scholarly research and overall discussion of the works and ideas
of Robert Anson Heinlein

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[Usenet archive about Robert A. Heinlien. - LRK -]
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~bcd/rah.html

Robert Anson Heinlein, 7 July 1907 - 8 May 1988

The Heinlein Society <http://www.heinleinsociety.org/> is an excellent
resource.

>From tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!ucbvax!agate!eos!barry
Wed Nov 23 17:20:38 EST 1988
Article 13889 of rec.arts.sf-lovers:
Path: tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!ucbvax!agate!eos!barry
>From: barry@eos.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: You are saved from seeing Heinlein story
Summary: "Beyond Doubt" has been anthologized at least twice.
Message-ID: <1982@eos.UUCP>
Date: 23 Nov 88 05:33:30 GMT
References:
Reply-To: barry@eos.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Organization: QQQCLC
Lines: 15

In article g3d8bu9r%gables.span@umigw.miami.edu (Alexander H. McIntire)
writes:
>Well, I have a copy of "Beyond Doubt," from _Astonishing Stories_,
>Vol. 2, No. 4, April 1941, written by Lyle Monroe [RAH] and Elma Wentz.
>
>I think, as a public service, that this should be made available.

It is available, though not easy to find. It has been
anthologized twice, to my knowledge: 1) _Beyond the End of Time_, ed. by
Frederik Pohl (Permabooks, paperback, 1952); 2) _Political Science
Fiction_, ed. by Warrick Greenberg (Prentice-Hall, 1974).

If you can't find it, you're really not missing much, fellow
Heinlein fans. It's not a terribly good story.

Kayembee
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http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.nl.html?pid=4166
Robert A. Heinlein Centennial

July 7, 2007 will be the birth centennial of American author, futurist,
philosopher and spaceflight advocate Robert A. Heinlein. Commemoration
and celebrations will fill the science fiction Grandmaster's Centennial
year, with the grandest event to be held on the weekend of July 6, 7 and
8 in his home town of Kansas City, Missouri.

Date: 6-8 Jul 2007

Location: Hyatt Regency Crown Center & Westin Crown Center, Kansas City,
MO, US

Web Site Address: http://www.heinleincentennial.com/

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http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/biographies.html
Heinlein Society
Biographies of Robert and Virginia Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein
a biography by
William H. Patterson, Jr

Virginia Heinlein
a biography by
Robert James, Ph.D.

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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