Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935)

Having read numerous refernces to this author/scientist, I was initially surprise how inavailable his works were in mainstream UK publishing.
The stories in this volume were often repetative, but what came across was the author's insistance on how necessary space travel is to humankind, he realistically describes space travel, with thought-out appraisals of the technology, experiences, probable discoveries as humankind expands from being rooted souly on Earth. Indeed it was hard to believe the author had never experienced reduced or zero gravity as his decriptions are so vivid. The whole book os a visualization of experiences going into the solar system. "Mankind will not remain on Earth forever, but, in search of light and space, will at first timidly penetrate beyond the limits of the atmosphere, and then finally conquer the spaces of the solar system".
Overall the book was not exciting like some of the other science fiction authors of the time (such as Jerzy Zulawski), but Tsiolkovsky is an important author in the history of the astronomical achievements of the last century, and I'm glad to have read some of his fiction.… (mehr)

eu 1500. Rarissimo. In 1929 he published his theory of multistage rockets, based on his knowledge of propulsion dynamics.He read Jules Verne's stories of space travel and began to write science fiction stories himself. He introduced elements of science and technology into his stories, such as the problem of controlling a rocket as it moved between gravitational fields. Gradually Tsiolkovsky moved from writing science fiction to writing theoretical papers on topics such as gyroscopes, escape velocities, the principle of action and reaction, and the use of liquid propellant rockets.… (mehr)