Ordeal in Space
1948 short story by Robert A. Heinlein
"Ordeal in Space" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally published in Town & Country, May 1948. It is one of Heinlein's Future History stories, and appears in his collection The Green Hills of Earth.
Plot summary
A spaceship's crewman is called to repair an antenna while his ship is still under spin. He is unable to hold on, despite supreme effort; he drifts away from the ship and has far too much time to ponder things. When he returns to Earth, he is unable to work as a spaceman and has a fear of heights. After living in fear and sadness for a time, he must face his troubles while rescuing a kitten stuck on the 35th-floor ledge of a building.
Heinlein includes a variant verse to the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save, dedicated "to those who venture into space," in the story. Originally titled "Broken Wings", the story was rejected by The Saturday Evening Post. A reading of this story was broadcast on BBC Radio 7 on July 14, 2007.
External links
- Page at Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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Robert A. Heinlein's Future History
- The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950)
- The Green Hills of Earth (1951)
- Revolt in 2100 (1953)
- Orphans of the Sky (1963)
- The Past Through Tomorrow (1967)
- Methuselah's Children (1958)
- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)
- Time Enough for Love (1973)
- The Number of the Beast (1980)
- The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
- To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987)
- The Pursuit of the Pankera (2020)
stories
- "Life-Line"
- "Let There Be Light"
- "The Roads Must Roll"
- "Blowups Happen"
- "The Man Who Sold the Moon"
- "Delilah and the Space Rigger"
- "Space Jockey"
- "Requiem"
- "The Long Watch"
- "Gentlemen, Be Seated!"
- "The Black Pits of Luna"
- "It's Great to Be Back!"
- "—We Also Walk Dogs"
- "Searchlight"
- "Ordeal in Space"
- "The Green Hills of Earth"
- "Logic of Empire"
- "The Menace from Earth"
- "'If This Goes On—'"
- "Coventry"
- "Misfit"
- "Universe"
- "Common Sense"
- The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein (1966)
- Expanded Universe (1980)
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