With a classic cover image of rescuing a space chimp from a capsule Drift Marlo #2 was a treasure worth seeking out. However what I want to point out is the USAF Space Shuttle inside.
Drift Marlo only had two issues published. This is the Oct-Dec issue. With all the discussion on other groups about the delta wing, I thought this was interesting to see. Fictional stories reflect the times so this one has some nice images of what the future was supposed to look like.
This illustration of a "space expo" is very interesting. At the time you could go to various trade shows and exhibitions where the aerospace contractors would have displays of their coming products.
These pictures of how a delta wing would launch are also a nice illustration of space art hiding in "children's" books. The sequence looks so similar to the real launches going on that the story seemed perfectly reasonable as a projection of the near-future.
Note also how the expectation was that there would be a "space force" under the U.S. Air Force (not NASA) to patrol and solve problems in near-Earth orbit.
The idea of a USAF Space Force continued to be contemplated well into the late 1970s as the shuttle was being developed.
That illustrated delta-winged craft looks to me like a Dyna-Soar with a fancy white & blue paint job, atop a Titan III with oddly truncated boosters. Standard equipment for space gumshoes, perhaps.
ReplyDelete-- Michael S.
Dyna-Soar was my first thought too.
ReplyDelete