jet pack n.
a device, worn over the shoulders like a backpack, that enables the wearer to travel through the air or in space by means of jet propulsion
Now often regarded as something whose development has always been promised, but has never materialized.
Propulsion
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1952 Los Angeles Times 6 July (Home Mag. section) 47 (advt.)
[The space helmet] comes to you complete with flexible outer tubes attached to large double astral jet pack tanks with official space patrol commander insignia.
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1957 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 11 Aug. (2nd Comic section) (caption)
His jet pack was used up, and he was almost out of oxygen…but he’s alive!
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1962
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John T. Phillifent
bibliography
‘With luck, we can get out—as far as the outside of the berg. But then…?’ ‘Then, we take a jet-pack each and head for Rainbow.’
Rainmakers in Science Fiction Adventures (vol. 5, no. 30) 19 -
1969
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Harlan Ellison
bibliography
Kris hit the jet-pack and went straight up.
Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R. in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Jan. 100/1 -
1973
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Jack Owen Jardine
One of the most science-fictiony problems to be investigated is that of personal jet-packs for EVA maneuvering. Almost 40 years ago Buck Rogers…wore miniature rockets on his back.
Skylab in Vertex June 83/2 -
1984
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Michael Swanwick
bibliography
Flickermotes appeared in the air between the towers. Were they flying cars, Rob wondered, or possibly personal jetpacks?
Ice Age in Amazing Stories Jan. 138 -
1992
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James Alan Gardner
bibliography
I…searched the sky, hoping to see one of the supply ships docked close enough that a jet pack could bridge the gap.
Young Person's Guide to the Organism in Amazing Stories Apr. 84/1 -
2002
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bibliography
He left the dinghy floating near Deuces, crossed into the cargo bay using a jet pack, and entered through the bay airlock.
Free Floaters in Asimov’s Science Fiction Aug. 68
Research requirements
antedating 1952
Earliest cite
Los Angeles Times
Research History
We would like more examples from genuine SF sources.
Last modified 2022-12-06 16:20:26
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entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
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