Editing Space Cadet (section)

{{Short description|1948 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book  
 | name          = Space Cadet
 | title_orig    = 
 | translator    = 
 | image         = Sc48.jpg
 | caption       = First edition cover
 | author        = [[Robert A. Heinlein]]
 | illustrator   = [[Clifford Geary]]
 | cover_artist  = Clifford Geary
 | country       = United States
 | language      = English
 | series        = [[Heinlein juveniles]]
 | genre         = [[Science fiction]] 
 | publisher     = [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner's]]
 | release_date  = 1948
 | media_type    = Print ([[Hardcover]], [[Paperback]])
 | pages         = 
 | preceded_by   = [[Rocket Ship Galileo]]
 | followed_by   = [[Red Planet (novel)|Red Planet]]
}}

'''''Space Cadet''''' is a 1948 [[science fiction]] novel by [[Robert A. Heinlein]] about Matt Dodson, who joins the Interplanetary Patrol to help preserve peace in the [[Solar System]]. The story translates the standard [[military academy]] story into outer space: a boy from [[Iowa]] goes to [[Officer Candidate School|officer school]], sees action and adventure, shoulders responsibilities far beyond his experience, and [[rite of passage|becomes a man]]. It was published as the second of the series of [[Heinlein juveniles]] and inspired the media franchise around the character [[Tom Corbett, Space Cadet|Tom Corbett]], including the 1950s television series ''[[Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (TV-series)|Tom Corbett, Space Cadet]]'' and radio show which made "Space Cadet" a household phrase whose meaning later shifted in popular culture.<ref name=S>{{cite web|title=Space (v.) entry in Online Etymology Dictionary|website=etymonline.com|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=space&allowed_in_frame=0}}</ref>