Below is an article that is upcoming in the NASA Alumni newsletter without images.
“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Modern rocketry began with foundational work by pioneers such as Tsiolkovsky, Oberth, Goddard, and the American Rocket Society. Their theoretical and experimental advances led to the V-2 program and ultimately enabled NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon through Dr. von Braun.
Born in September 1857 in the village of Izhevskoye, Russia, Tsiolkovsky was the fifth child in a family of Polish descent. A bout of scarlet fever at the age of ten left him with significant hearing loss, limiting his formal education. Undeterred, he became an autodidact. The imaginative works of Jules Verne, “From the Earth to the Moon,” ignited his fascination with space travel. Tsiolkovsky was a schoolteacher.
In 1883, Tsiolkovsky came up with an idea for reactive propulsion with the principle that a vehicle could propel itself by expelling part of its mass at high-speed in the opposite direction. He created the fundamental equation of rocket motion, now known as the Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation, which is taught today to freshman in aerospace internationally.
In 1903, Tsiolkovsky published his seminal work, “Exploration of Outer Space by Means of Rocket Devices,” in the Russian magazine Science Review (Nauchnoye Obozreniye). He proposed the use of liquid hydrogen and oxygen as rocket propellants. He envisioned multi-stage rockets, space stations, airlocks for spacewalks, and colonization of the solar system. His thoughts were unrecognized and remained within a small circle in Russia.
In 1919, his contributions were formally acknowledged when he was elected to the Socialist Academy, the precursor to the USSR Academy of Sciences. His research inspired Sergei Korolev, the chief designer of the Soviet space program, who was almost entirely unknown in history until much later.
“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Hermann Oberth
Hermann Oberth, held a place alongside Russia’s Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and the United States’ Robert H. Goddard. Born on July 25, 1894, in Hermannstadt, Transylvania (Romania), Oberth was captivated by space from an early age, drawing inspiration from Jules Verne’s science fiction, notably “From the Earth to the Moon” and “Around the Moon.” Oberth proposed liquid-fueled rockets as a means for long-range missiles to the German War Department. His ideas were dismissed.
In 1922, Oberth formalized his concepts in his doctoral dissertation, “Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen” (“By Rocket into Planetary Space”), which the University of Heidelberg rejected as speculative. Oberth self-published in 1923. His research demonstrated that rockets could reach space, detailed the feasibility of liquid propellants, oxygen and hydrogen, proposed multi-stage rockets for increased velocities, and identified navigation and life support problems.
To advance Oberth’s vision, the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR), (German Society for Space Travel), was established in 1927. The VfR began conducting experimental rocket tests in 1929. The society attracted notable members, including Wernher von Braun, a young engineering student who became Oberth’s assistant and protégé.
Oberth’s mentorship influenced von Braun, who later directed Germany’s rocket development efforts during World War II. Leveraging Oberth’s theories, Germany developed the V-2 rocket, the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. They knew of the work of Tsiolkovsky and Goddard in America.
“The dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” – Robert H. Goddard
Born on October 5, 1882, in Worcester, Massachusetts, Dr. Robert H. Goddard’s life shared similarities with Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Like Tsiolkovsky, he was an avid physicist and mathematician, convinced that rockets were the key to space flight, and he worked in obscurity for most of his life. However, there was a significant difference between them: while Tsiolkovsky’s contributions were purely theoretical, Goddard transformed theory into practice by developing the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket that worked.
Goddard was educated in Worcester, graduating from South High School in 1904, obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1908, and earning a doctorate in physics from Clark University in 1911. He became a professor of physics at Clark University, where he began to apply science and engineering to space flight. He determined that liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen would be highly efficient rocket propellants. In July 1914, he was granted patents on rocket combustion chambers, nozzles, propellant feed systems, and multistage rockets.
While Dr. Robert H. Goddard was advancing rocketry through private experiments, another group of American enthusiasts independently pursued space exploration. Formed in the early 1930s, the American Rocket Society (ARS) emerged as an organization that envisioned the potential of rockets and tested them.
The ARS was part of the American Interplanetary Society (AIS). Established in New York City by science fiction enthusiasts and amateur scientists David Lasser, G. Edward Pendray, and H. Winfield Secor. AIS members engaged in experimental rocketry, designing and testing rockets to while creating a network of for space exploration. In 1934, AIS became the American Rocket Society.
In 1963, recognizing the need for a unified professional body to represent the aerospace industry, the ARS merged with the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences to form the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The combined contributions of Tsiolkovsky, Oberth, Goddard, and the ARS laid the groundwork for modern rocketry, leading to the V-2 and subsequent space initiatives at NACA and NASA. Tsiolkovsky’s mathematical models defined spaceflight’s theoretical foundation, while Goddard’s liquid-fueled engines launched American programs. In Germany, Oberth turned speculative science into reality, mentoring Dr. Wernher von Braun, who would drive the V-2 program and later the U.S. space program.
The Apollo moon landings ultimately rested on the foundational work of these pioneers from the U.S., Germany, and Russia. From this historical viewpoint, the outcome was truly an international effort for the benefit of all mankind.
References
- Tsiolkovsky, K. S. (1903). Exploration of outer space by means of rocket devices. The Science Review, 5.
- Kosmodemyansky, A. (2000). Konstantin Tsiolkovsky: His life and work. The Minerva Group.
- Siddiqi, A. A. (2000). Challenge to Apollo: the Soviet Union and the space race, 1945-1974 (Vol. 4408). National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans.
- Lasser, D. (1931). The Conquest of Space. Penguin Press.
- Springer, A. (2001). The development of an aerospace society – The AIAA at 70. In 39th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit (p. 177).
- Oberth, H. (1984). Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag.
- Anderson, M. (Ed.). (2012). Pioneers in Astronomy and Space Exploration. Britannica Educational Publishing.
- Neufeld, M. J. (1995). The rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the coming of the ballistic missile era. Simon and Schuster.
