Startling Stories Winter 1955 — Space Combat & Drifting Astronaut Cover

A blazing orange explosion erupts against the cold black void as a sleek silver rocket — marked with the number 21 — takes a devastating hit in deep space. Below, a lone astronaut in a bulky red-and-white pressure suit tumbles helplessly, tethered to nothing, with a distant blue moon hanging indifferently in the background. The composition captures the brutal isolation of space warfare with dramatic diagonal energy typical of peak Atomic Age pulp cover art.