Dr. Robert L. Forward, scientist and writer, died yesterday. He had inoperable brain cancer, but by all accounts, kept as good a sensiblity as he could about such a terrifying situation. Dr. Forward will be remembered for his novel of life on a neutron star; but space science has started to implement some of his revolutionary ideas for propulsion.
Early this Winter, NASA will launch an experiment which will test some of his ideas in using the Earth’s magnetic fields to alter the trajectory of an oribiting spacecraft.
Godspeed, Dr. Forward.
