Space marine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Space marines are fictional soldiers that operate in outer space. Space marines are common in military science fiction-themed action movies and action games.

The concept of "space marines" originated in the stories and books of Robert A. Heinlein, with the phrase itself appearing as early as his "Misfit"[1] (1939) and "The Long Watch"[2] (1940). They were given center stage in his novel Starship Troopers, where they were called the Mobile Infantry, and characterised as an exceptionally heavily armed and armoured mobile ground force.

Later uses of the concept would tend to avoid the use of the term "space marine" in favour of something related but individual, such as the "Colonial Marines" of the film Aliens; many science-fiction settings simply talk of "the Marines". However, Heinlein's concept of a heavily equipped mobile infantry force remained. The concept of "space marines" as spaceborne shock troops was present in the form of Imperial stormtroopers in the Star Wars saga.

The concept was popularized in the 1980s by the ceramite-armoured, bolter-wielding crusading Space Marines of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, who first appeared in 1987's Rogue Trader; the term is currently a trademark owned by Games Workshop for their table-top game Warhammer 40,000 and its derivatives.

Not so fictional, however, is the United States Marine Corps's desire to expand into space. Project Hot Eagle considers the use of spacecraft to deliver marines to a target on the ground. "Within minutes of bursting into the atmosphere beyond the speed of sound – and dispatching that ominous sonic boom – a small squad of Marines could be on the ground and ready to take care of business within 2 hours."[3]

  1. ^ "The parade ground voice of a First Sergeant of Space Marines cut through the fog and drizzle..."
  2. ^ "Space marines, arms reversed and heads bowed, stood guard around [the coffin]..."
  3. ^ Marines in Spaaaaaace!. Defence Tech.org (September 19, 2005). Retrieved on April 3, 2006.
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