Where did Heinlein say “Once you get to Earth orbit, you're halfway to anywhere in the Solar System”?












1












$begingroup$


I know what it means. I've seen delta-V charts. But I don't know if Robert Heinlein wrote this down, or simply said it off-the-cuff to somebody.



Variations include:




  • "Reach low orbit, and your halfway ..." (See Space Access Society logo http://space-access.org)


  • "Make orbit, and you're halfway ..."



If we want to attribute this to him, a citable source would be handy.






low-earth-orbit history space-art







share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
    $endgroup$
    – uhoh
    3 hours ago


















1












$begingroup$


I know what it means. I've seen delta-V charts. But I don't know if Robert Heinlein wrote this down, or simply said it off-the-cuff to somebody.



Variations include:




  • "Reach low orbit, and your halfway ..." (See Space Access Society logo http://space-access.org)


  • "Make orbit, and you're halfway ..."



If we want to attribute this to him, a citable source would be handy.






low-earth-orbit history space-art







share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
    $endgroup$
    – uhoh
    3 hours ago
















1












1








1





$begingroup$


I know what it means. I've seen delta-V charts. But I don't know if Robert Heinlein wrote this down, or simply said it off-the-cuff to somebody.



Variations include:




  • "Reach low orbit, and your halfway ..." (See Space Access Society logo http://space-access.org)


  • "Make orbit, and you're halfway ..."



If we want to attribute this to him, a citable source would be handy.






low-earth-orbit history space-art







share|improve this question











$endgroup$




I know what it means. I've seen delta-V charts. But I don't know if Robert Heinlein wrote this down, or simply said it off-the-cuff to somebody.



Variations include:




  • "Reach low orbit, and your halfway ..." (See Space Access Society logo http://space-access.org)


  • "Make orbit, and you're halfway ..."



If we want to attribute this to him, a citable source would be handy.






low-earth-orbit history space-art




low-earth-orbit history space-art






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 3 hours ago









uhoh

39.2k18144498




39.2k18144498










asked 3 hours ago









Rick 0xfffRick 0xfff

54349




54349












  • $begingroup$
    This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
    $endgroup$
    – uhoh
    3 hours ago




















  • $begingroup$
    This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
    $endgroup$
    – uhoh
    3 hours ago


















$begingroup$
This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
3 hours ago






$begingroup$
This might possibly be on-topic here (not sure), but there is also Science Fiction SE and you are probably going to get faster, better, and more answers there than here. Consider asking there instead?
$endgroup$
– uhoh
3 hours ago












1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















2












$begingroup$

As I understand it was quoted by Jerry Pournelle in his column "Halfway to anywhere" first published in the Galaxy Magazine from April 1974 Issue. Than this article was collected with others into his book "A step farther out". Here's a quote,




One of my rivals in the science-writing field usually begins his columns with a personal anecdote. Although I avoid slavish imitation, success is always worth copying. Anyway, the idea behind this column came from Robert Heinlein, and he ought to get credit for it.
Mr. Heinlein and I were discussing the perils of template stories: interconnected stories that together present a future history. As readers may have suspected, many future histories begin with stories that weren't necessarily intended to fit together when they were written. Robert Heinlein's box came with "The Man Who Sold the Moon." He wanted the first flight to the Moon to use a direct Earth-to-Moon craft, not one assembled in orbit; but the story had to follow "Blowups Happen" in the future history.
Unfortunately, in "Blowups Happen" a capability for orbiting large payloads had been developed. "Aha," I said. "I see your problem. If you can get a ship into orbit, you're halfway to the Moon."
"No," Bob said. "If you can get your ship into orbit, you're halfway to anywhere."
He was very nearly right.







share|improve this answer









$endgroup$













    Your Answer





    StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
    return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
    StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
    StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
    });
    });
    }, "mathjax-editing");

    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "508"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });














    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f35015%2fwhere-did-heinlein-say-once-you-get-to-earth-orbit-youre-halfway-to-anywhere%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    1 Answer
    1






    active

    oldest

    votes








    1 Answer
    1






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    2












    $begingroup$

    As I understand it was quoted by Jerry Pournelle in his column "Halfway to anywhere" first published in the Galaxy Magazine from April 1974 Issue. Than this article was collected with others into his book "A step farther out". Here's a quote,




    One of my rivals in the science-writing field usually begins his columns with a personal anecdote. Although I avoid slavish imitation, success is always worth copying. Anyway, the idea behind this column came from Robert Heinlein, and he ought to get credit for it.
    Mr. Heinlein and I were discussing the perils of template stories: interconnected stories that together present a future history. As readers may have suspected, many future histories begin with stories that weren't necessarily intended to fit together when they were written. Robert Heinlein's box came with "The Man Who Sold the Moon." He wanted the first flight to the Moon to use a direct Earth-to-Moon craft, not one assembled in orbit; but the story had to follow "Blowups Happen" in the future history.
    Unfortunately, in "Blowups Happen" a capability for orbiting large payloads had been developed. "Aha," I said. "I see your problem. If you can get a ship into orbit, you're halfway to the Moon."
    "No," Bob said. "If you can get your ship into orbit, you're halfway to anywhere."
    He was very nearly right.







    share|improve this answer









    $endgroup$


















      2












      $begingroup$

      As I understand it was quoted by Jerry Pournelle in his column "Halfway to anywhere" first published in the Galaxy Magazine from April 1974 Issue. Than this article was collected with others into his book "A step farther out". Here's a quote,




      One of my rivals in the science-writing field usually begins his columns with a personal anecdote. Although I avoid slavish imitation, success is always worth copying. Anyway, the idea behind this column came from Robert Heinlein, and he ought to get credit for it.
      Mr. Heinlein and I were discussing the perils of template stories: interconnected stories that together present a future history. As readers may have suspected, many future histories begin with stories that weren't necessarily intended to fit together when they were written. Robert Heinlein's box came with "The Man Who Sold the Moon." He wanted the first flight to the Moon to use a direct Earth-to-Moon craft, not one assembled in orbit; but the story had to follow "Blowups Happen" in the future history.
      Unfortunately, in "Blowups Happen" a capability for orbiting large payloads had been developed. "Aha," I said. "I see your problem. If you can get a ship into orbit, you're halfway to the Moon."
      "No," Bob said. "If you can get your ship into orbit, you're halfway to anywhere."
      He was very nearly right.







      share|improve this answer









      $endgroup$
















        2












        2








        2





        $begingroup$

        As I understand it was quoted by Jerry Pournelle in his column "Halfway to anywhere" first published in the Galaxy Magazine from April 1974 Issue. Than this article was collected with others into his book "A step farther out". Here's a quote,




        One of my rivals in the science-writing field usually begins his columns with a personal anecdote. Although I avoid slavish imitation, success is always worth copying. Anyway, the idea behind this column came from Robert Heinlein, and he ought to get credit for it.
        Mr. Heinlein and I were discussing the perils of template stories: interconnected stories that together present a future history. As readers may have suspected, many future histories begin with stories that weren't necessarily intended to fit together when they were written. Robert Heinlein's box came with "The Man Who Sold the Moon." He wanted the first flight to the Moon to use a direct Earth-to-Moon craft, not one assembled in orbit; but the story had to follow "Blowups Happen" in the future history.
        Unfortunately, in "Blowups Happen" a capability for orbiting large payloads had been developed. "Aha," I said. "I see your problem. If you can get a ship into orbit, you're halfway to the Moon."
        "No," Bob said. "If you can get your ship into orbit, you're halfway to anywhere."
        He was very nearly right.







        share|improve this answer









        $endgroup$



        As I understand it was quoted by Jerry Pournelle in his column "Halfway to anywhere" first published in the Galaxy Magazine from April 1974 Issue. Than this article was collected with others into his book "A step farther out". Here's a quote,




        One of my rivals in the science-writing field usually begins his columns with a personal anecdote. Although I avoid slavish imitation, success is always worth copying. Anyway, the idea behind this column came from Robert Heinlein, and he ought to get credit for it.
        Mr. Heinlein and I were discussing the perils of template stories: interconnected stories that together present a future history. As readers may have suspected, many future histories begin with stories that weren't necessarily intended to fit together when they were written. Robert Heinlein's box came with "The Man Who Sold the Moon." He wanted the first flight to the Moon to use a direct Earth-to-Moon craft, not one assembled in orbit; but the story had to follow "Blowups Happen" in the future history.
        Unfortunately, in "Blowups Happen" a capability for orbiting large payloads had been developed. "Aha," I said. "I see your problem. If you can get a ship into orbit, you're halfway to the Moon."
        "No," Bob said. "If you can get your ship into orbit, you're halfway to anywhere."
        He was very nearly right.








        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 3 hours ago









        OONOON

        1,184410




        1,184410






























            draft saved

            draft discarded




















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to Space Exploration Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid …



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f35015%2fwhere-did-heinlein-say-once-you-get-to-earth-orbit-youre-halfway-to-anywhere%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            -

            Popular posts from this blog

            Bundesstraße 106

            Image
            Dieser Artikel beschreibt die Bundesstraße 106 in Deutschland. Zur gleichnamigen Straße in Österreich siehe Mölltal Straße. Vorlage:Infobox hochrangige Straße/Wartung/DE-B Bundesstraße 106 in Deutschland Karte Basisdaten Betreiber: Deutschland  Bundesrepublik Deutschland Straßenbeginn: Wismar ( 53° 54′  N , 11° 24′  O 53.900536 11.396875 ) Straßenende: Schwerin ( 53° 36′  N , 11° 24′  O 53.592785 11.404892 ) Gesamtlänge: 40,7 km Bundesland: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Ausbauzustand: zweistreifig [1] Bundesstraße 106 in Schwerin (Umgehungsstraße) Straßenverlauf Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Landkreis Nordwestmecklenburg Ortsumgehung Wismar Wallensteingraben über   Dorf Mecklenburg Wallensteingraben Groß Stieten Bad Kleinen OT Niendorf Bahnstrecke Lübeck–Bad Kleinen Zickhusen Lübstorf Klein Trebbow OT Kirch Stück ...
            Read more

            Verónica Boquete

            Image
            Verónica Boquete im Trikot der Nationalmannschaft (2013) Personalia Name Verónica Boquete Giadans Geburtstag 9. April 1987 Geburtsort Santiago de Compostela, Spanien Größe 159 cm Position Mittelfeld / Sturm Juniorinnen Jahre Station 2001–2005 Xuventú Aguiño Frauen Jahre Station Spiele (Tore) 1 2005–2008 Prainsa Zaragoza 83 (40) 2008–2010 Espanyol Barcelona 53 (30) 2010 Buffalo Flash 9 0 (9) 2010 Chicago Red Stars 3 0 (1) 2010–2011 Espanyol Barcelona 26 (41) 2011 Philadelphia Independence 13 0 (5) 2011 Energija Woronesch 5 0 (1) 2012–2014 Tyresö FF 39 (14) 2014 Portland Thorns FC 15 0 (4) 2014–2015 1. FFC Frankfurt 23 0 (7) 2015–2016 FC Bayern München 9 0 (0) 2016–2018 Paris Saint-Germain 31 0 (8) 2018 Peking BG Phoenix 2019– Utah Royals FC 0 0 (0) Nationalmannschaft Jahre Auswahl ...
            Read more

            Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten

            Image
            Die Lage des Ida-Boy-Ed-Gartens, rot markiert Der Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten Der Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten, Blick von der Wakenitzmauer durch das Tor in der Stadtmauer Der Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten ist eine Straße der Lübecker Altstadt. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Lage 2 Geschichte 3 Literatur 4 Weblinks Lage | Der etwa 90 Meter lange Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten befindet sich an der nördlichen Spitze der Altstadtinsel, vor dem Burgtor. Die in einem Bogen durch eine Grünanlage hangaufwärts führende Straße verbindet die Wakenitzmauer mit der Burgtorbrücke. Geschichte | Der heutige Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten wurde ursprünglich als Verlängerung der Wakenitzmauer angelegt. 1903 wurde in den erhaltenen Teil der mittelalterlichen Stadtmauer, an dem die Wakenitzmauer bei der Einmündung der Kaiserstraße begann, ein Tor mit einem großen Bogen für die Durchführung der Straße und zwei kleineren seitlichen Öffnungen für Fußgänger gebrochen, um für die neu errichteten Wohnhäuser in diesem Bereich ...
            Read more