TSIOLKOVSKIJ, K(ONSTANTIN E(DUARDOVICH). - TSIOLKOVSKI, TSIOLKOVSKIY, TSIOLKOWSKY, CIOLKOWSKY, ZIOLKOWSKY, TZIOLKOWSKY.

Projekt metallizsjeskogo dirischablja na 40 zsjelovjek (Russian). (A Project concerning a Metal Dirigible for 40 People [or A Proposed 40-Man Dirigible]).

Kaluga 1930. Orig. printed wrappers. 8vo. (16,5 x 12,8 cm). A few spots to margins of wrappers, otherwise mint. 91 pp. + 21 pp. with illustrations only.

Rare and interesting first edition (in Russian). Few of T.'s works are as extensive and elaborate as this one. T. was clearly very much ahead of his time in the design of the metal dirigible presented here. Science and technology only very lately grasped his conceps and by the time they did, their author was forgotten and T.'s name was, very wrongly, not mentioned. "The works of Tsiolkovskiy that date from the Soviet period repeat the principle assumption of his theory of the metal aerostat, provide counsel on the practical organization of experimental work, survey critically the existing types of dirigibles, and point out the errors in the research into metal-envelope dirigibles in the USSR and abroad." (Collected Works, 1959, III: p. 23).

Being the father of the all-metal dirigible aerostat with changeable volume and gas heating, his technical foresight was greatly in advance of the level of industrial development at the time. He came up with a number of entirely new ideas concerning dirigible design. He set out to develop a dirigible that would be safe as well as fast, up until then the dirigibles in use were neither. He wanted to ensure a longer flight-time, and was certain this could not be attained with the fabric envelopes in use at the time, -they leaked gas, lost hight and couldn't stay aloft for long at a time. Besides that they were insecure due to fire-hazard and not sufficiently strong. As the very first, T. developed the idea of an all-metal envelope that was capable of altering size, - the "breathing" metal envelope. "Tsiolkovskiy's ideas found no support either in Russia or abroad. His ideas were dozens of years ahead of the science and technology of his time. The subsequent development of the technology of dirigible construction shows that Tsiolkovskiy's ideas were adopted by many authors who, however, treated them as recent discoveries, without mentioning the name of Konstantin Eduardovich." (Collected Works, 1959, III: p. 11-12). "Forty years of experimenting were needed to produce concepts that had already been expressed by K.E. Tsiolkovkiy, while aeronautics was still in the cradle." (Collected Works, 1959, III: p. 17). With the invention of the all-metal dirigible T. has proved to be ahead of both contemporary scientists and inventors as well as of his time. "His work is now a shining beacon in science, attracting the attention of the scientists and designers called upon to provide mankind with a reliable transport dirigible." (Collected Works, 1959, III: p. 26).

The father of modern rocketry, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovski (1857-1935), is probably most widely known for his works on rocket propulsion, however his contributions to several fields of science have been immense and of exceedingly seminal character. Deafened at the age of nine and as a consequence thereof unable to go to school, he was forced to learn everything on his own hand. His father, a forester, was fond of scientific experiments, and though not wealthy, he had books on science and natural history. Tsiolkovski began by reading all books he could find on these subjects and as a consequence was able to construct quite complicated devices for measuring distances and many other things. Having seen how gifted his son was, his father sent him to Moscow, where Tsiolkovski spend all three years in libraries, receiving no teaching but his own, but still succeeding in taking a degree in physics from the university. T. can thus be seen as a purely self-taught man. After Moscow he settled in the small city of Borovskoye, where he taught physics at a school, spending all his spare time conducting experiments and writing about them.
He devoted his intellect mainly to three scientific problems of the greatest importance at the time: The aeroplane, the (long-range) rocket and the all metal dirigible. Self-taught as he was and unable to come in touch with new publications in his fields of interest, he began with nothing and made all necessary calculations himself. Calculations and experiments were always at the base of his scientific works, and no conclusions were derived from intuition and guesswork.
He was the first in the world to solve numerous problems concerning his three main interests, but unable to be recognized by the tsar-regime and considered, at best, a dreamer and a utopian, the struggle for his inventions was long and hard.
Aged 24 he was the first in the world to formulate the possibility of applying the principle of reactive motion for flight in a vacuum, thus presenting a simple plan for a spaceship. He established the possibility of space travel by means of rockets, and is thus called the father of rocketry. He is also called the father of the all-metal dirigible. He is the first to propose and state that liquid fuel is necessary for spaceflight. He was the first in the world to make calculations for the air-jet and turbo-prop-planes, and it is in his works we find the most complete elaboration of the theory of rocket propulsion for many years to come. "In his works on rocket dynamics Tsiolkovsky, the first in the history of science, calculated the efficiency of the rocket and pointed out the advantages of rocket motors at high velocities." (Kosmodemyansky, Moscow, 1956, p. 69). T. saw it as necessary step for mankind to explore and inhabit outer space and nothing could prevent him from working on the possibilities of this; in short, among many other things, we owe to him the fundamental principles of rocket dynamics.
After the Revolution T. became a member of the Academy, was allotted a personal pension in 1921, and became able to devote himself entirely to his scientific work. Now his contemporaries finally saw him as the founder of a new domain of human knowledge, a new science, he was, and he was awarded the Red Banner of Labour Order for outstanding services to his country.

Order-nr.: 28969