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Ordeal in Space is a science fiction short story, written by Robert A. Heinlein, and published in the May 1948 issue of Town & Country magazine. It is included in his 1951 collection The Green Hills of Earth and in his 1967 Future History omnibus The Past Through Tomorrow.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

William Cole leaves his post as Chief Communications Officer and back-up pilot on the spaceship Valkyrie after his severe acrophobia (the fear of falling) disqualifies him for space service. He returns to Earth and assumes the name William Saunders, as he is tired of hearing people talk about his heroic actions onboard the Valkyrie. He settles into a menial job, rents a small apartment. A co-worker talks Bill into renting a room in his and his wife's apartment. Bill reluctantly agrees as the room is on the building's thirty-fifth floor.

One night, Bill is awakened by a pitiful crying sound. It is a small kitten trapped on a narrow ledge beneath his window. Despite his acrophobia, Bill trys to reach for it, but his hand is several inches short of the kitten. The kitten, frightened, scurries several feet along the ledge. As Bill shudders in fear, he recalls what befell him on the Valkyrie.

Bill had to climb onto the ship's spinning hull to repair a vital radar-piloting antenna. He released his umbilical line to climb beneath the antenna, and once it was repaired, he found himself trapped on a small ledge, his umbilical line out of reach. He hung on for two hours, and then, nearly out of oxygen and numb, he let go and fell into the terrifying void of space. Luckily another ship rescued him.

Back at the apartment window, Bill, trembling in fear, carefully climbs onto the ledge, edges along the building face, rescues the kitten, edges back and climbs inside his room. He intends to go back to the space service, his paralyzing fear of falling now abated. He asks the kitten if it would like to accompany him.