An interesting space-related profile from Princeton, his alma mater.
I did an interview a few months ago for the upcoming documentary, even though I didn’t really know O’Neill (I met him once). He had a large indirect influence on my life. The last question I was asked was what single word came to mind when I thought about him. My answer: “Hope.”
[Afternoon update]
It’s important to understand that The High Frontier came out in the mid-70s, a time of doom and gloom. Paul Ehrlich and the Club of Rome were always banging on about overpopulation and running out of resources, and instead of global warming, we were supposed to be worried about a return of the glaciers. In addition to O’Neill’s book, Peter Vajk (himself inspired by O’Neill) came out with a book meant to be a palliative, titled Doomsday Has Been Canceled. Anyway, that’s the context in which I said that he brought hope.
That’s a great story. I’m sure Homer Hickam will be pleased that “October Sky” was a pivotal force in the decision.
I had heard of the book “The High Frontier” by O’Neill et al. years before I found a copy in a library. In the years of slapstick Mars orbiters and the VentureStar to nowhere, it was reassuring to read bold and hopeful ideas for a future in space.
Apropos, NS flight has been scrubbed until 2019.
So that’s 2 flights for NS in the last 12 months. Not great.
This explains a lot why they are so slow relative to SpaceX, they are just working on rockets and not on what to do with them once you build them. Elon Musk by contrast knows where he is going. I am also surprise people have forgotten about Bernal Spheres which were proposed in the 1920’s.