Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Cio%C5%82kowski

Konstantin Eduardowicz Ciołkowski (Konstanty Ciołkowski, ros. Константин Эдуардович Циолковский

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A6%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%BE%...

Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky (1857 - 1935), scientist, inventor, teacher, and pioneer in rocket and space research, was born on 17 September 1857, in the village of Izhevskoye, in Ryasan Province, Russia, one of eighteen children of Edward Tsiolkovsky and Maria Yumasheva; he died at his his home in Kaluga on 19 September 1935, at the age of seventy-eight. Along with the German Hermann Oberth and the American Robert H. Goddard, he is considered to be a founding father of rocketry and astronautics. His works later inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers such as Sergey Korolyov and Valentin Glushko and contributed to the success of the Soviet space program.

Early life

His father, a Polish deportee to Siberia, was successively a forester, teacher, and minor government official. Konstantin lost his hearing at the age of ten due to scarlet fever. When he was 13, his mother died. When he was fourteen, he was forced to drop out of school, ending his formal education though he continued to read voraciously. From 1873 to 1876, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky lived in Moscow, studying at a library where Russian cosmism proponent Nikolai Fyodorov worked. Inspired by the novels of Jules Verne, he started to consider what would be required to actually design a space vehicle. He proposed not only venturing into outer space, but the establishment of permanent colonies there, for he had come to believe that colonizing space would lead to the perfection of the human race, with immortality and a carefree existence.

"The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever."

Despite the youth's growing knowledge of physics, his father was concerned that he would not be able to provide for himself financially as an adult and brought him back home at the age of 19 after learning that he was overworking himself and going hungry. Tsiolkovsky began to pursue his dreams by writing science fiction. He introduced elements of science and technology into his stories, such as the problem of controlling a rocket as it moved between gravitational fields.

"First, inevitably, the idea, the fantasy, the fairy tale. Then, scientific calculation. Ultimately, fulfillment crowns the dream."

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. While in Ryasan, he published his first scientific work, Astronomical Drawings, a schematic depiction of the Solar System, including the distances between planets. He soon introduced technical problems into his fictional writings, such as rocket control in moving into and out of gravitational fields. In September 1879, Tsiolkovsky became a math teacher in the public school system but devoted as much time to his research as possible.

"For me, a rocket is only a means--only a method of reaching the depths of space--and not an end in itself... There's no doubt that it's very important to have rocket ships since they will help mankind to settle elsewhere in the universe. But what I'm working for is this resettling... The whole idea is to move away from the Earth to settlements in space."

From 1880 to 1892, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky taught school in Borovsk but continued to write about hot air balloons, life in outer space, aerodynamics, and cosmic philosophy. In 1883, he published Free Space, a consideration of the possibility of living in outer space and the effects of zero gravity. He included a drawing of a craft that could maneuver in space by firing reactive jets, had gyroscopic controls and airlocks to protect its crew, and was one of the earliest designs of such a vehicle. He also met and married his wife Varvara Sokolovaya during this time.

In 1892, Tsiolkovsky moved to Kaluga. Although he continued to teach school, he became a well-known scientist, writing and publishing his theories of space flight and interplanetary travels. In 1894 Tsiolkovsky designed a monoplane that was not flown until 1915. In 1895 he became the first person to conceive the space elevator, inspired by the newly constructed Eiffel Tower in Paris. He built the first Russian wind tunnel in 1897. Tsiolkovsky was one of the first researchers to deal with the theoretical requirements of space travel. He was the first to identify and arrive at solutions to a number of these issues with what is now known as "Tsiolkovsky Formula," a fundamental principle that is still basic to astronautics. He first described the formula on 10 May 1897, but did not publish it until 1903, in the article "Exploration of the Universe with Reaction Machines." In it, Tsiolkovsky provided detailed calculations that accurately described the state of weightlessness and the theoretical function of rockets in a vacuum. He demonstrated why rockets would be needed for space exploration, and also advocated the use of liquid propellants, one of the foundations of modern rocketry.

"Men are weak now, and yet they transform the Earth's surface. In millions of years their might will increase to the extent that they will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, the atmosphere, and themselves. They will control the climate and the Solar System just as they control the Earth. They will travel beyond the limits of our planetary system; they will reach other Suns, and use their fresh energy instead of the energy of their dying luminary."

The first two decades of the 20th century were marred by personal tragedy. Tsiolkovsky's son Ignaty committed suicide in 1902, and in 1908 many of his accumulated papers were lost in a flood. In 1911, his daughter Lyubov was arrested for engaging in revolutionary activities.

An insightful visionary who thought a great deal about the uses of his beloved rockets to explore and master space, he wrote Investigations of Outer Space by Rocket Devices in 1911 and Aims of Astronauts in 1914. Although rockets had been in use since their invention in twelfth-century China as weapons that evolved from fireworks, it was Tsiolkovsky who used mathematics and physics to study and model the manner in which they operated, called rocket dynamics. In 1903 he published the rocket equation in a Russian aviation magazine. Called the Tsiolkovsky formula, it established the relationships among rocket speed, the speed of the gas at exit, and the mass of the rocket and its propellant. This equation is the basis of much of the spacecraft engineering done today.

"Mankind will not forever remain on Earth, but in the pursuit of light and space will first timidly emerge from the bounds of the atmosphere, and then advance until he has conquered the whole of circumsolar space."

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was made a member of the Soviet Academy of Science in 1919. He worked as a high school mathematics teacher until retiring in 1920 at the age of 63. In 1921 he received a lifetime pension that allowed him to devote himself full time to writing about space travel. Tsiolkovsky wrote over 500 scientific papers, and, even though he never built any rockets himself, he influenced many young Russian engineers and designers. He lived long enough to see some of them begin to make his visionary concepts reality.

"To set foot on the soil of the asteroids, to lift by hand a rock from the Moon, to observe Mars from a distance of several tens of kilometers, to land on its satellite or even on its surface, what can be more fantastic? From the moment of using rocket devices a new great era will begin in astronomy: the epoch of the more intensive study of the firmament."

In 1926, Tsiolkovsky wrote Plan of Space Exploration, detailing his ideas from the very beginning of space travel until the far distant future, including interstellar travel and the colonization of the solar system and beyond. His 1929 book, The Space Rocket Trains, included his concept of multi-stage rockets, consisting of several separate rockets, one on top of another which he proved were necessary for any craft to reach escape velocity and fly to Earth orbit.

Tsiolkovsky's most important book may be his 1932 work, Cosmic Philosophy, in which he discussed the far distant future of humanity, including the eventual conquest of space and mankind's migration to the stars. Album of Space Travels, also published in 1932, shows his visionary ideas about life in space, including discussions of zero gravity, air pressure locking, space habitats, and rocket guidance. Tsiolkovsky also wrote science fiction books, including On The Moon (1895), Dreams of the Earth and Sky (1895), and Beyond the Earth (1920).

"All the Universe is full of the life of perfect creatures."

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky died at his home in Kaluga on 19 September 1935, at the age of seventy-eight. Shortly before his death, he wrote: "All my life I have dreamed that by my work mankind would at least be advanced a little." He had furthered studies on many principles still used in rockets today: specific impulse to gauge engine performance, multistage boosters, fuel mixtures such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the problems and possibilities inherent in microgravity, the promise of solar power, and spacesuits for extravehicular activity.

"My entire life consisted of musings, calculations, practical works and trials. Many questions remain unanswered; many works are incomplete or unpublished. The most important things still lie ahead."

Tsiolkovsky was buried with State honors in the Kaluga Cemetery.

Legacy

Tsiolkovsky taught for forty years in Kaluga, and watched his dreams became a reality, partly through the Soviet Space program, which conformed in many ways with his prophecies. The Russian Space Museum was established in Kaluga as a tribute to him, and he is buried nearby.

• Asteroid 1590 Tsiolkovskaja is named in his honor
• His home in Kaluga where he lived the last 30 years of his life is now the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics
• A far side moon crater is named in his honor
• In 1989 he was invested in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame
• The Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga, Russia, honors his theoretical work

Sources

• Wiki Profile
• NASA
• International Space Hall of Fame
• Find A Grave Memorial# 7493788

Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский (рус. дореф. Константинъ Эдуардовичъ Ціолковскій; 5 [17] сентября 1857, Ижевское, Рязанская губерния, Российская империя — 19 сентября 1935, Калуга, РСФСР, СССР) — русский и советский философ, изобретатель и школьный учитель. Основоположник теоретической космонавтики[6]. Обосновал использование ракет для полётов в космос, пришёл к выводу о необходимости использования «ракетных поездов» — прототипов многоступенчатых ракет. Основные научные труды относятся к аэронавтике, ракетодинамике и космонавтике[7].

Представитель русского космизма, член Русского общества любителей мироведения. Автор научно-фантастических произведений, сторонник и пропагандист идей освоения космического пространства. Циолковский предлагал заселить космическое пространство с использованием орбитальных станций, выдвинул идеи космического лифта, поездов на воздушной подушке. Считал, что развитие жизни на одной из планет Вселенной достигнет такого могущества и совершенства, что это позволит преодолевать силы тяготения и распространять жизнь по Вселенной.

Sources

• Wiki Profile
• NASA
• International Space Hall of Fame
• Find A Grave Memorial# 7493788