The Russian scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) formulated the mathematical fundamentals of modern astronautics. He showed that space travel was possible only by means of rocket propulsion.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was born on Sept. 17, 1857, in the village of Izhevskoye, Ryazan Province. His father was successively a forester, teacher, and minor government official. When he was ten Konstantin contracted scarlet fever, which left him with permanently impaired hearing. He became passionately interested in science and mathematics. At the age of 16 he went to Moscow. He made an ear trumpet himself and attended lectures and studied in libraries. Regular attendance at the university was out of the question because of the costs involved and his deafness.

Hardships in Moscow

Tsiolkovsky seriously began considering the problems of space exploration. While still not completely schooled in physics, he developed a machine that he thought might someday reach outer space by means of centrifugal...