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"I wrote many novels which … contained the element of the projected collective unconscious, which made them simply incomprehensible to anyone who read them, because they required the reader to accept my premise that each of us lives in a unique world."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Osprey Space Armor | ||
| Space suit you can live in. |
Very early description of having a space suit that almost substitutes for a space ship. Look through the other items from this story, particularly the asteroid rocket to see the slapdash style of the earliest "belters"!
| His "planet" was the smallest in the solar system, and the loneliest,
Thad Allen was thinking, as he straightened wearily in the huge,
bulging, inflated fabric of his Osprey space armor. Walking awkwardly
in the magnetic boots that held him to the black mass of meteoric
iron, he mounted a projection and stood motionless, staring moodily
away through the vision panels of his bulky helmet into the dark
mystery of the void...
He drew his right arm out of the bulging sleeve of the suit, into its ample interior, found a cigarette in an inside pocket, and lighted it. The smoke swirled about in the helmet, drawn swiftly into the air filters. "Darn clever, these suits," he murmured. "Food, smokes, water generator, all where you can reach them. And darned expensive, too. I'd better be looking for pay metal!"
 (Salvage in Space) |
| From Salvage in Space,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Astounding Stories in 1933 Additional resources -
|
Here's a bit more detail:
Be sure to read the entry for rocket motor from this same story to understand the minimalist "space ship" that Williamson envisions for his hero.
Fans of Larry Niven remember the belter world from At the Bottom of a Hole (1966) by Larry Niven.
Compare to the early reference to the phrase space suit from The Emperor of the Stars (1931) by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat). Also the pneumatic suit from The Shot Into Infinity (1929) by Otto Willi Gail. Also in Edison's Conquest of Mars, an 1898 novel by Garrett P. Serviss; see this article on air-tight dress. Also, see the somewhat less formal space overalls from Lost Rocket, a short story by Manly Wade Wellman.
Also, compare to vacuum armor from Skylark Three (1930) by Doc Smith,
space-armor from Revolt of the Star Men (1932) by Raymond Z Gallun,
Dirigible Space Armor (Working Space Suits) from Collision Orbit (1941) by Jack Williamson, and
space armor from Cities in Flight (1957) by James Blish.
He still wore his Osprey-suit. The
heavy fabric, made of metal wires impregnated with a tough, elastic
composition...
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and Technology from Salvage in Space
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Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
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news articles:
- The Space Suit As Personal Spaceship
- A Space Ship On My Back
| NASA 'Broomstick' Recalls SciFi Ideas |
| Orbital Display's Low Earth Orbit Advertisements |
| Trillionaires Still Earth-Bound |
| Grow Plants On Moon Or Mars! |
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''... major cities of Earth have free electrical power conveniently processed from their own noise.'
'The appearance was enough like a giant witch's broom to justify the nickname.'
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.'
'He had constructed an organ, a brain, of metal, entirely inorganic and lifeless...'
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.'
Oh, and now I suppose someone will develop the robotic porch pirate.
'This thing will start at one end of ...a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.'
