The National Space Society’s Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award honors those individuals who have made significant, lifetime contributions to the creation of a free, spacefaring civilization. Their contributions can be in any form or discipline. Those individuals whose actions have involved personal, social, or financial risk are particularly meritorious. Do not exclude anyone from consideration if their contribution is in only one area.

The Award is in memory of author Robert A. Heinlein for his many contributions to the pro-space movement. In addition to serving as a Director of the L5 Society for about a decade, Heinlein was one of the most popular and controversial writers of “hard” science fiction – holding a high standard for the plausibility according to modern science and raising the overall quality of the genre through the example of his works. He also painlessly educated a whole generation about spaceflight by teaching through entertainment. The 15th Heinlein award will be presented to the winner at the National Space Society’s 33rd International Space Development Conference (ISDC) to be held in Los Angeles, CA in May 2014.

Only living individuals, or those who have been deceased less than three years prior to the starting date of the ISDC, are eligible for this award. The Previous award winners in chronological order are: Dr. Gerard K. O’Neill, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Dr. Wernher von Braun, Gene Roddenberry, Dr. Robert H. Goddard, Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Carl Sagan, Neil Armstrong, Robert Zubrin, Capt. James Lovell, Gen. Chuck Yeager, Burt Rutan and Dr. Peter Diamandis. These individuals are not eligible for this award again.

The ballot contains a list of the top 28 candidates eligible in 2014. You can vote for any eligible candidate who is not on the list by writing in a candidate’s name. This may get that person on the top candidates list for 2015.

Click here to vote or go to http://www.nss.org/heinlein-ballot.php

NOTE: Online voting will end December 31, 2013 at midnight Hawaiian time.

Each member should indicate three (3) choices of award recipients in order of decreasing preference. The single winner is selected by a modified Australian weighted vote system. Your first choice gets four (4) points, the second two (2) points, and the third 1 point. During the ballot counting process, the vote point totals of eligible candidates received for the 2012 and previous years awards are decremented by 25% and then added to this year’s vote point totals. The individual with the highest number of total points will receive the award and will no longer be eligible for future awards. Ballot instructions are on the Ballot.

Chapters can also vote – there is a check box on the ballot for chapter votes which brings up chapter information fields.

Come to the 2014 ISDC to see the Heinlein Winner Presented!

Once again, the 15th Heinlein award will be presented at the National Space Society’s 33rd International Space Development Conference to be held in Los Angeles, CA in May 2014. Join us in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel from May 14 – May 19, 2014 to witness the celebration of the Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award and much more!