Thursday 10 October 2024

Luna City

D.D. Harriman, Robert Heinlein's "Man Who Sold The Moon," says that:

he might be the first mayor of Luna City;

he and his pilot will found Luna City;

he has thought of it as Luna City since he was a kid although maybe they will put Harriman Square in the middle of it.

Later, it is decided that Luna City will be founded on the second trip to the Moon.

Later Future History stories are set in Luna City and:

"Johnny was from Luna City...that roaring commercial metropolis."
-"Holmgang," I, p. 21.

The name has jumped between future histories.

One of Heinlein's Scribner Juvenile novels refers to Selene City on the Moon, maybe as a handy sf-type way of indicating that this novel is set in an alternative future.

Will there be a Luna City in our future?

6 comments:

Stephen Michael Stirling said...

Probably, I'd say. Once Starship is operational, costs to orbit will drop to air-freight levels, and once you're in orbit you're 50% of the way to anywhere in the Solar System.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Soon, soon, soon, I hope!!! So many years were wasted when short sighted people virtually shut down anything like a real space program after 1973.

Ad astra! Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I read a wonderful article today about how Musk's company SpaceX used huge mechanical grabs to seize the slowly descending second stage of a Starship. They used that "testing to destruction" principle, an earlier model Starship revealed serious flaws which, once corrected, led to the successful test I read about today.

Musk has also complained about how the FAA has been slow and reluctant about granting him the licenses required for those space ships. I strongly suspect many in the gov't don't want a real space program!

Ad astra! Sean

Anonymous said...

FWIW here is a podcast episode about how there are some legitimate complaints about how SpaceX has been somewhat careless about environmental issues and the property rights of the neighbors to his Boca Chica launch site. I don't think Pamela Gay can reasonably be considered irrationally anti-Musk. She is an astronomer who would like to see Starship cheaply put lots of large telescopes into space.
https://cosmoquest.org/x/365daysofastronomy/2024/10/11/oct-11th-spacex-vs-faa-epa-cards-against-humanity/

Anonymous said...

Somehow I ended up as 'anonymous'
Jim Baerg

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Jim!

I grant there may well be times some of SpaceX's neighbors may have legitimate complaints. But that should be handled thru ordinary civil and tort law.

But I was talking about the gov't, esp. when controlled by left wing Democrats, many of whom are hostile to Musk.

Ad astra! Sean