Abstract
A few centuries ago, travel to the distant planets took the form of fanciful trips using swan-drawn carriages, gigantic cannons or even dreams. But with the advent of rocket propulsion, voyages to the Moon and beyond took on a much more serious tone. Scientists and engineers began to thoughtfully plan strategies for getting people out into the “ether.” How did we do? By comparing the visions of the past to the actuality that unfolded in our human space exploration programs, we can explore the scale of time – and the progress of our understanding of the universe – in concrete ways.
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Notes
- 1.
The Chinese made use of solid rockets as far back as the eleventh century. Records from 1264 mention the “ground rat,” a kind of firework. But it was not until the early twentieth century that engineers began to study rockets as a mode of space propulsion. Tsiolkovsky’s The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices advocated the use of liquid oxygen and hydrogen to fuel rockets.
- 2.
You Will Go To The Moon by Mae and Ira Freeman, 1959, Beginner books/Random House.
- 3.
First Men to the Moon by Werner Von Braun, 1958, Holt, Reinhart & Winston.
- 4.
A fascinating Chinese legend describes what may have been the first rocket-powered human flight. A city official named Wan-Hu supervised construction of a rocket- propelled flying chair. Two kites were attached to the chair top, with 47 rockets affixed to its back. While his launch must have been spectacular, his landing was not documented.
- 5.
Launch windows, or opportunities, occur roughly every 18 months between Earth and Mars.
- 6.
Exploration of Mars by Werner Von Braun and Willey Ley, Viking Books, 1956 .
- 7.
Challenge of the Stars by Patrick Moore and David A. Hardy, Mitchell Beazley ltd/Random House, 1972.
- 8.
Out of the Cradle, William K. Hartmann; ©1984 Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
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Carroll, M. (2016). Space Travel. In: Picture This!. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24907-0_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24907-0_9
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