![TSIOLKOVSKI, Konstatin. Father of Astronautics. 1903 Autograph Manuscript with four orignal drawings. ["Rocket Jet Device as a Means for Entering Near the Sun Space"] 8o, 17 pp. with 4 numbered drawings, grey ink on evenly browned paper, minor wear to edges, small tears at edges not affecting text.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2001/NYE/2001_NYE_08521_0226_000(025259).jpg?w=1)
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TSIOLKOVSKI, Konstatin. Father of Astronautics. 1903 Autograph Manuscript with four orignal drawings. ["Rocket Jet Device as a Means for Entering Near the Sun Space"] 8o, 17 pp. with 4 numbered drawings, grey ink on evenly browned paper, minor wear to edges, small tears at edges not affecting text .
"... ONLY A JET DEVICE WILL ALLOW A MAN TO CAST OFF THE CHAINS WHICH BIND HIM TO THE EARTH..."
A remarkable record of a visionary thinker. Tsiolkovsky describes the history of his ground-breaking ideas, calculations for overcoming Earth's gravity with a rocket, the hydrogen and oxygen engine, mechanical cooling of the rocket engines, directing of flight of the rocket, use of Earth's rotation for launching a rocket, and a call for experimental method for verification of his advanced ideas.
Born in 1857, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was largely self-taught and his first formal employment was as a "people's school teacher" in 1878. Although without any resources outside of his meager salary, Tsiolkovsky amazingly conducted his own engineering research. In 1883, he demonstrated the reaction principle while experimenting with opening a cask filled with compressed gas. He credits early science fiction with inspiring his ideas, "Jules Verne gave birth to first thoughts living in me since childhood."
In 1898 he designed a reaction thrust motor and the following year, the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Academy of Science granted him 470 rubles to further research the principles involved. He published his first article on rocketry in 1903, a discussion of using the reaction thrust motor to demonstrate Newton's Third Law and employ a vessel powered by a combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen to achieve a speed great enough to escape the Earth's gravitational field. "The last speed is more than enough for overcoming the Earth's and the Sun's attraction, so the rocket can travel among the stars." (See diagrams 1 and 2 of the manuscript.)
Tsiolkovsky also hypothesized the creation of the "rocket train", a multistage ship the layers of which would be discarded as the fuel they carried was consumed. In 1919, he was elected to the Socialist Academy (later the USSR Academy of Science). During the course of this life, Tsiolkovsky produced approximately 60 works on physics, astronomy, and Astronautics. In 1935 he published Na Lune [On the Moon], a compilation of descriptions of rockets and the other pieces of machinery required for spaceflights.
Original Tsiolkovsky manuscripts are rare on the market.
"... ONLY A JET DEVICE WILL ALLOW A MAN TO CAST OFF THE CHAINS WHICH BIND HIM TO THE EARTH..."
A remarkable record of a visionary thinker. Tsiolkovsky describes the history of his ground-breaking ideas, calculations for overcoming Earth's gravity with a rocket, the hydrogen and oxygen engine, mechanical cooling of the rocket engines, directing of flight of the rocket, use of Earth's rotation for launching a rocket, and a call for experimental method for verification of his advanced ideas.
Born in 1857, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was largely self-taught and his first formal employment was as a "people's school teacher" in 1878. Although without any resources outside of his meager salary, Tsiolkovsky amazingly conducted his own engineering research. In 1883, he demonstrated the reaction principle while experimenting with opening a cask filled with compressed gas. He credits early science fiction with inspiring his ideas, "Jules Verne gave birth to first thoughts living in me since childhood."
In 1898 he designed a reaction thrust motor and the following year, the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Academy of Science granted him 470 rubles to further research the principles involved. He published his first article on rocketry in 1903, a discussion of using the reaction thrust motor to demonstrate Newton's Third Law and employ a vessel powered by a combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen to achieve a speed great enough to escape the Earth's gravitational field. "The last speed is more than enough for overcoming the Earth's and the Sun's attraction, so the rocket can travel among the stars." (See diagrams 1 and 2 of the manuscript.)
Tsiolkovsky also hypothesized the creation of the "rocket train", a multistage ship the layers of which would be discarded as the fuel they carried was consumed. In 1919, he was elected to the Socialist Academy (later the USSR Academy of Science). During the course of this life, Tsiolkovsky produced approximately 60 works on physics, astronomy, and Astronautics. In 1935 he published Na Lune [On the Moon], a compilation of descriptions of rockets and the other pieces of machinery required for spaceflights.
Original Tsiolkovsky manuscripts are rare on the market.