Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on September 17th,1857 in the village of Izhevskaya in the province of Ryazan. He was the son of a Polish deportee to Siberia. The boy lost his hearing at age nine as a result of scarlet fever; four years later his mother died.
At 14, however, he took up mathematics and natural sciences and resumed his studies, making use of his father's library. The parents of the young Tsiolkovsky saw a great ability for science in their son, together with an inclination toward self-study and an unquestionable talent for invention. He was sent to Moscow to obtain an education and to study industry. He was accomplished in both science and mathematics and became a teacher at Kaluga, Russia. Even as a teacher, Tsiolkovsky found time to learn.
In his flat, he arranged a small laboratory, where 'electric lightning flashed and thunder rattled'. His most impressive display was that of an electric 'octopus'.
In 1894 Tsiolkovsky designed a monoplane that was not flown until 1915. He built the first Russian wind tunnel in 1897. He also was an insightful visionary who thought a great deal about the uses of his beloved rockets to explore and master space. He was the author of Investigations of Outer Space by Rocket Devices (1911) and Aims of Astronauts (1914).
Some of Tsiolkovsky’s solutions gave scientists in America and Russia ideas when they began to think about space travel. They also thought about airplanes they and other people had made, and even big bombs that could fly themselves very long distances.
At the end of the 19th century, Tsiolkovsky began research in the field of spaceship building in Russia, and made a great number of original designs for rockets. He showed that the most efficient way of launching rockets into space is to arrange them in packets or series of rockets, 'staging' as it is known today.
Tsiolkovsky is remembered for believing in the dominance of humanity throughout space, also known as anthropocosmism. He had grand ideas about space industrialization and the exploitation of its resources. Tsiolkovsky has been honored since his death in 1935. A far side moon crater is named in his honor. In 1989 he was invested in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
