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August 03, 2005
Steve Robinson: Space Cadet
Author Robert Heinlein must be smiling up there in heaven. His book, Space Cadet, (Ace Books, 1948) inspired the popular television and comic-strip series, Tom Corbett: Space Cadet. Those in turn generated a book series and toys, including one Space Cadet lunch box taken to orbit on STS-114 by Steve Robinson (shown in a photo published in the Houston Chronicle yesterday). Today, a space-suited Steve deftly removed pieces of wayward tile gap filler from the belly of the Space Shuttle Discovery. In Heinlein’s book, the crew, sent on a rescue mission to Venus, have to refurbish an old ship for their return to Earth. There is danger and risk, but our heroes are up to the challenge.
President Bush told the crew yesterday, “I just wanted to tell you all how proud the American people are of our astronauts. I want to thank you for being risk-takers for the sake of exploration.”
We all are indeed proud, especially those of us with faded yellow copies of Heinlein’s book who also shared the Tom Corbett series with our children. We anxiously wait to see the next episode of this exciting adventure called the Vision for Space Exploration. I’m sure I’m not the only National Space Society member who will have her lunch box packed.
Marianne Dyson
NSS director
Children's author
Posted by m_dyson at August 3, 2005 01:09 PM
