Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the Russian father of rocketry .
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was a Russian and Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautic theory, of Polish and Russian descent.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the Russian father of rocketry, was a self-educated man, but he developed insights into space travel and rocket science that are still in use over a hundred years later, earning him a place in history as one of the pioneers of astronautics.
Born: September 17, 1857, Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast, Russia
Died: September 19, 1935, Kaluga, Russia
At the age of 10, he developed scarlet fever, and lost a significant portion of his hearing, an ailment that isolated him from his peers. By the age of 14, he had been suspended from school, having acquired only a few brief years of formal education.
In Russia, Tsiolkovsky is known as “the father of theoretical and applied cosmonautics.” His work helped drive the Russian space race, inspiring rocket designers such as Valentin Glushko and Sergey Korolyov.
“The Earth is the cradle of mankind, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
But a rigorous theory of jet propulsion described them in 1896. Tsiolkovsky derived the formula (it was called “Formula of Aviation”), establishing the relationship between:
- speed of a rocket at any moment
- specific impulse fuel
- mass of the rocket in the initial and final time
\deltaV=I0ln\left({M1\overM0}\right)
His works later inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers such as Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko and contributed to the success of the Soviet space program.
Tsiolkovsky theorized many aspects of space travel and rocket propulsion. He is considered the father of spaceflight and the first person to conceive the space elevator, becoming inspired in 1895 by the newly constructed Eiffel Tower in Paris.
