space field n. 2
a place esp. on the surface of a planet where spacecraft can take off and land; = spaceport n.
Cf. airfield (1919 in OED).
-
1939 Cosmic Engineers in Astounding Science-Fiction Feb. 58/2
page image
Clifford D. Simak
bibliography
There was no stir of life about the buildings that huddled between the space-field and the mountains.
-
1941 Mystery on Base Ten in Amazing Stories Jan. 221/2
page image
William P. McGivern
bibliography
He stared unseeingly at the vast, sprawling space field, with its dozens of mooring towers and expulsion tubes, repair pits and checking offices.
-
1947 Children of the Lens in Astounding Science-Fiction Nov. 19/2
page image
Edward E. Smith
bibliography
Two big, gray-clad Lensmen stood upon the deserted spacefield.
-
1950 Five Gold Bands in Startling Stories Nov. 54/2
page image
Jack Vance
bibliography
The Shauls had sheared off and leveled the peak of an old volcano to make Aevelye’s space-field. When Paddy and Fay brought their boat down they found themselves overlooking a vast panorama of badlands, a chopped and hacked region of red, yellow, and green-gray rock.
-
1953 Far from the Warming Sun in Galaxy Sept. 110/2
page image
R. Douglas Nicholson
bibliography
The ‘space field’ was an arbitrarily defined area of ice, and the tower a plastic affair, rising about two hundred feet into the poisonous air.
-
1966 Babel-17 (1976) 39
Samuel R. Delany
bibliography
They left the Discorporate Sector and took the monorail through the tortuous remains of Transport Town, then along the edge of the space-field.
-
1969 Spork Conquers Civilization in Worlds of If July 70
page image
Perry A. Chapdelaine
bibliography
Other buildings scattered here and there surrounded the space field.
-
1986 Airs of Earth in Amazing Stories Jan. 35
page image
Paul J. McAuley
bibliography
The doctor’s eager seeking expression reminded him of the wretches who sometimes haunted spacefields, drawn by the glamor [sic] of space travel but lacking the necessary talent or wealth.
-
1993 Alien Porn in Interzone (#67) Jan. 29/2
page image
Bob Shaw
bibliography
I’m going to set up a checkpoint at the space field, and I’m going to inspect the incoming…baggage.
-
2001 Babylon Sisters in Interzone (#168) June 21/1
page image
Paul Di Filippo
bibliography
I came to myself at the lock leading to the spacefield.
-
2012 Helix Wars 309
page image
Eric Brown
bibliography
A kilometre further on, Ellis saw the first signs of activity on the spacefield. Fliers came and went.
Research requirements
antedating 1939
Earliest cite
Clifford Simak, "Cosmic Engineers", in Astounding
Last modified 2022-12-29 15:34:34
In the compilation of some
entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
in OED.