1. Konstatin Tsiolkovsky

2. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
The foundation of much of Russia's rocket and space flight theory arrived several decades before the launch of the first liquid rockets within the works of Konstatin Tsilovosky
Although Tsilovosky had no formal education and was almost completely unknown outside of the Soviet Union, his contributions to the Russian space program would be influential in molding early missile, orbital satellite, and manned spacecraft designs

3. Early Life

4. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский)
Born September 17, 1857 in Ijevskoe, Russia
His father, a Polish forester, moved the family to Pronsk where the family grew to 17 brothers and sisters
After several illnesses, Konstatin, he contracted scarlet fever and permanently lost much of his hearing at the age of nine
The Tsiolkovsky family then moved to Vyatka, where Konstatin entered the boys school

5. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Because of his severe hearing impairment, Konstantin was suspended at the age of 14 and began to teach himself at home
Nearly his entire education which he pursued for most of his life, was self-taught
In 1873, Tsiolkovsky traveled to Moscow at the age of 16 to enter the Moscow Technical College. He failed to pass the entrance exams, but pursued further self-education in math, physical sciences, engineering and philosophy at the himself at Chertkovskaya and other libraries throughout the city
His focus turned to aeronautics and mechanics as he developed an increasing interest in space flight; at that time a subject of fiction

6. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
During Tsiolkovsky’s stay in Moscow, profound changes took place in Russia's economy
Societal changes from the abolition of feudal dependency in 1861 freed peasants to travel to the burgeoning industrial centers
Arts and sciences flourished in this period; the same era in which Tsiolkovsky's inspiration in scientific theory began
This is the same period in which Tolstoy wrote his prolific works, Mendeleev developed the periodic table of elements, and Zhukovsky did his pioneering work in aerodynamics

7. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky was fascinated with the works of Jules Verne, which led to his interest in aerodynamic and space flight
His early inspiration led him to apply the principles of physics to the many problems that were yet to be solved
That inspiration also led him to publish his first manuscript, Dreams of Earth and Sky, and later, more than 500 papers, books and articles on space flight

8. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
In 1876, Tsiolkovsky returned to the family's home in Vyatka at his father's request to help support his family
Two years later, the family moved to Ryazan where Tsiolkovsky worked as a tutor
In addition to continuing his self education and tutoring, and studying for a teaching certificate, he began experimenting in artificial gravity
In 1880, he completed his teaching certificate and began a secondary career teaching math in Borovsk, in the district of Kaluga

9. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
This was also the year he met his wife, Varvara Sokolova, the daughter of a local preacher
While in Borovsk, Konstatin drafted his first designs for lighter-than-air ships, all with corrugated metal skin
Twelve years later, Konstantin received a teaching promotion and moved to the city of Kaluga where he would spend the rest of his life pursuing his interests in lighter-than-air vehicles, aircraft, and rocket propelled vehicles
His home in Kaluga, that is now one of the Tsiolkovsky museums, is where he and his wife raised their seven children

10. Rocketry and Space Flight

11. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky began working on space flight theories well before publishing one of his important articles on the reaction principle of rockets in 1903, The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Motors
Tsiolkovsky’s reaction principle analyses were the first writings to detail the application of the rocket for space travel
In later articles, Tsiolkovsky described the use of advanced propulsion fuels that included liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen two decades before the launch of Robert Goddard's first liquid fuel rocket in 1926
This is the fuel used in the Space Shuttle and considered one of the most efficient propellant combinations

12. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky's interests, work, and publications covered many fields, although most of his papers were related to space travel
His studies in aerodynamics led to the design of a number of unique aircraft designs and lighter-than-air ships
Many of his lighter-than-air models were made of corrugated tin for the external structure, a material that proved to be versatile but too heavy for flight

13. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
A wind tunnel used in his research in aerodynamics and aircraft design was the first civil structure built in Russia
His experimentation spanned his first years after returning  to his family from Moscow to his last productive years
The workshop in his Kaluga home that is now a museum displays many of the laboratory tools and equipment he used in his aeronautical designs, including a press for corrugating thin sheet tin, and a wind tunnel that is now at the Tsiolkovsky Museum

14. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstatin's first laboratory experiment that was an artificial centrifuge was the first attempt at investigating the necessary research into the effects on human in space, especially during long-duration missions
His work also included several solutions for the high accelerations encountered during launch to orbit and at atmospheric reentry
One important design, a hydro-bath that would reduce the effects on the body from the high acceleration/decelerations, was considered a possibility in the capsule design for the early Russian manned vehicles

15. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Cutaway of a manned rocket design by Tsiolkovsky that included liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propulsion and complete (for that period) life support including high-g launch and reentry accommodation (Tsiolkovsky Museum)

16. Later Life

17. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky's difficulties with the Russian Czar as well as the Communist and Soviet regimes was not unlike other Russian scientists and intellectuals in that period
Revolutionary party distrust of his writings and anti-Soviet accusations by others led to his arrest and brief incarceration in Moscow
After persecution for his scientific work, he would later be recognized by the Soviet government as a very important figure in space research and science
In his later life, the Soviets recognized his important contribution to rocketry and space flight theory, but only after the works of Oberth and Goddard elaborated on the important theories of space flight, and Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket in 1926

18. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky's reputation as a visionary as well as a gifted scientist in a field that he defined led to his membership in the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1919
His recognition by the Soviet Government also allowed him to work on his research and publications with direct grants instead of his teaching
Although the Soviet leadership embraced Tsiolkovsky's theoretical work in space flight, there were obvious conflicts between the Soviet doctrine and his philosophy

19. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Much of his later works engaged in ideas on human exploration and colonization, and the human adaptation to a spiritual universe
These concepts were not just missing from the party dogma, but ideas which put many Russians in prisons or labor camps, or worse
Tsiolkovsky would eventually publish over 500 scientific papers, providing both conceptual and theoretical support for later rocket designers. However, a number of his important publications were lost in obscurity or confiscated because of Czarist/Communist/Soviet distrust of intellectuals and their independent style of thinking

20. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Missile and rocket engineers, including Vladimir Glushko, met with Tsiolkovsky in his later years, offering Tsiolkovsky validation of the space exploration efforts they both felt important to Russia
For Glushko, this was an important affiliation that he knew would later advance his influence within the Soviet government

21. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky's important contributions to future flight included (Harford):
Design of lighter-than-air vehicles
Applied Newton's laws to develop an important rocket propulsion equation
Orbital space flight theory and concept development
Outlined potential use of atomic energy propulsion and solar propulsion
Proposed gyroscopic stabilization of rocket ships
Calculated analytic expression for escape velocity for launch to Earth orbit
Described extravehicular activity (EVA) concepts
Hypothesized first liquid fuel rocket propulsion system (only solid rockets had been flown before)

22. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky's important contributions to future flight (cont.)
Identified liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as ideal liquid propellants
Proposed cryogenic fuels used to cool combustion chambers and nozzles
Proposed graphite vanes for directing the rocket exhaust for directional control
Described a flotation device for accommodating high-g human launches
Developed first spacecraft pressurized system concepts
Developed pressurized space suit concept for space walks
Developed basic concepts for staged rockets to reach orbit
Described space stations and life support systems including artificial plant growth for deep-space missions

23. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Reproduction of Tsilkovsky's rocket thrust equation

24. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky pursued more than his engineering interests in space flight. During his later years, Tsiolkovsky wrote The Cosmic Philosophy, an outline of the human development and habitation of the solar system
The ambitious plan had sixteen steps for the exploration efforts that would lead to "Universal Happiness" and the ultimate direction in human evolution
The basic concepts published in 1926 as the 16 steps are:
1. Creation of rocket airplanes with wings
2. Progressively increasing the speed and altitude of these airplanes
3. Production of real rockets-without wings
4. Ability to land on the surface of the sea

25. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
5. Reaching escape velocity and the first flight into Earth orbit
6. Lengthening rocket flight times in space
7. Experimental use of plants to make an artificial atmosphere in spaceships
8. Using pressurized space suits for activity outside of spaceships
9. Making orbiting greenhouses for plants
10. Constructing large orbital habitats around the Earth

26. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
11. Using solar radiation to grow food, to heat space quarters, and for transport throughout the solar system
12. Colonization of the asteroid belt
13. Colonization of the entire solar system and beyond
14. Achievement of individual and social perfection
15. Overcrowding of the Solar System and the colonization of the surrounding stars
16. The Sun begins to die and the people remaining in the Solar System's population go to other suns

27. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstatin Tsiolkovsky was not just a productive and brilliant scientist who defined an entire field, he developed many of his theories on rocket propulsion and space flight decades before the first Russian liquid fuel rocket were launched
The gap in theory and technology of Soviet rocketry was recognized by the early designers of Russia's first rockets
Both Korolev and Glushko wrote of his influence on their early designs, as well as others working in Russia's rocket design bureaus after WW-II
Tsilkovsky did, however, live long enough to see the fruits of his theories on rocketry transformed into liquid rockets
In a newspaper article published in July 1935, just a few months before his death, Tsiolkovsky wrote: "Unending work in recent times has shaken my pessimistic views: Techniques have been found that will give remarkable results within a few decades.”

28. The End