The Heinlein Centennial Convention was held in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

from July 6 through July 8, 2007, coincident with the 100th anniversary of

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

's birth in

Butler, Missouri Butler is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census. The county seat of Bates County, the city is named for William Orlando Butler, a noted Ame ...

on July 7, 1907. The Guests of Honor were Robert and

Virginia Heinlein Virginia Heinlein (April 22, 1916 – January 18, 2003), born Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld, was an American chemist, biochemist, engineer, and the third wife and muse of Robert A. Heinlein, a prominent and successful author often considered on ...

, in absentia and deceased. The keynote speakers were: *

Michael D. Griffin Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949) is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy of Technology for the Str ...

, administrator of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Brian Binnie William Brian Binnie (April 26, 1953 – September 15, 2022) was a United States Navy officer and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites and flown from 2003 to 2004. Early life Bin ...

, pilot of

SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...

on its X-Prize-winning flight *

Peter Diamandis Peter H. Diamandis (; born May 20, 1961) is a Greek Americans, Greek-American engineer, physician, and entrepreneur best known for being founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University a ...

, founder of the X-Prize *

Jeff Greason Jeff Greason is a co-founder and Chief Technologist of Electric Sky, a company developing the ability to wirelessly transmit power to moving vehicles. He also serves as chairman of the board of the Tau Zero Foundation. Career Greason has been ...

, CEO of

XCOR Aerospace XCOR Aerospace was an American private spaceflight and rocket engine development company based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Midland International Air and Spaceport in Midland, Texas and the Amsterdam area, the Netherla ...

* Patricia G. Smith, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation within the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

Many notable science fiction authors were also in attendance, including Spider and Jeanne Robinson,

David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fic ...

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

, and

John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been nom ...

. The event was held in the adjoining Crown Center Hyatt Regency and Westin hotels, which are linked by a

Habitrail Habitrail is a brand name for a hamster cage made by the Hagen corporation. It is a series of translucent plastic tubes and "houses" for use in home terrariums, designed specially for hamsters. The design of the Habitrail is modular and can be co ...

-like transparent pedestrian tube called "The Link".

Programming Notes

The program included a track devoted to space travel with emphasis on commercial endeavors, since Heinlein is revered by many in the private space community, notably for his book ''

The Man Who Sold the Moon "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is a science fiction novella by American author Robert A. Heinlein, written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his ''Future History'' and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon landi ...

''. Some programming began on the evening of July 5 with selections of Heinlein's biography read by his official biographer, William Patterson. Saturday evening featured a gala of entertainment including a rare video greeting from Sir Arthur C. Clarke in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, one of the last he recorded before his death the following year. The centennial also hosted two ongoing conferences at the same venue: The annual Campbell Conference and the

Science Fiction Research Association The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media. ...

Conference, where both presented their awards. The winners of the awards were brought to Kansas City and were honored in a joint evening event on Friday evening. The Campbell Conference topic for Saturday's round-table discussion was, "Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, and 21st Century Science Fiction."

References

External links

Campbell Conference official website
- from the Center for the Study of Science Fiction
The Heinlein Centennial Archives

Heinlein Centennial Program Schedule

Space Review

Robert A. Heinlein {{sf-convention-stub