Who's tsiolkovsky?

1September, 857 17, tsiolkovsky was born in Izhevski village, Ryazan region. My father is a forest ranger and my mother was born in a craftsman's family. Her family is very poor and lived a hard life when she was a child. More unfortunately, when tsiolkovsky was 10 years old, he suffered from severe scarlet fever and was deaf in both ears, so he had to drop out of school before finishing primary school. Under the guidance of his parents, he taught himself primary and junior high school courses with tenacious perseverance, and developed the habit of being diligent in thinking. /kloc-when he was 0/4 years old, he got knowledge from physics books, tried to make a car model driven by bellows fan, made a paper bag full of hydrogen, and drew an imaginary plane sketch.

1873, 16-year-old tsiolkovsky went to Moscow alone with a strong desire and began a three-year study career. Because of deafness, I can't go to school, so I can only go to the library for self-study every day. He goes out early and returns late, regardless of the heat and cold, studying hard in the library all day, and relying on his father to send money to maintain the minimum living. He actually finished the college science course in three years. While studying, he became interested in interstellar travel, made his own metal aircraft and began to study the related issues of rocket flight. He later recalled: "I seldom study systematically, only read some books that I am interested in and think are important." It can be said that I write while studying, although I often delay my study and my writing fails. It is also difficult for me to recall exactly how I started to calculate questions about rockets. For me, the first seed of space flight thought was sown by jules verne's famous fantasy novel, which made me form a clear direction in my mind and I began to regard it as a serious activity. "

From 65438 to 0879, tsiolkovsky passed the exam with excellent results and obtained the qualification of a middle school teacher. While teaching mathematics and physics at borowski Middle School, he independently studied interstellar travel. He devoted all his enthusiasm to space research and his spare time to a world without gravity, even to the point of obsession. In his notebook during this period, he drew an astronomical map of the solar system, depicting the "spindle tower" and "artificial circle" that can be hung in space, which may be his earliest idea about satellites and space stations. 1883, he wrote the manuscript of Free Space and pointed out the possibility of using the reaction device as the power of space travel tools. Outside the earth, human beings are tested by weightlessness, and rockets can fly in space. He also drew a schematic diagram of the rocket engine that conquered space. From 65438 to 0887, he was invited to Moscow to give an academic lecture on metal aircraft, and his research results attracted the attention of some scientists. In 189 1, he studied the problem of interstellar navigation theoretically, and further clearly pointed out that only rockets can achieve this goal.

At this time, two things happened that made tsiolkovsky very sad: one was that the neighbor's hut caught fire, which destroyed tsiolkovsky's books, tools, models and manuscripts, and many years of hard work went down the drain; The other is that his talent and integrity are jealous, and he can no longer work in Moscow, which has caused great difficulties for his research work. 1892, he left borovosk angrily and moved his family to the small town of Kaluga. There, he still teaches physics in middle school and devotes himself to his research and experiment. 1893, he published the science fiction novel On the Moon. Two years later, he published the book Fantasy about the Earth and the Sky and the Effect of Gravitation, and put forward the idea of launching an artificial earth satellite. He not only used the dilapidated physics laboratory of the school to do small steam engine jet experiments; Moreover, a "wind tunnel" was built on the roof of his house with abandoned iron drums. This simple blower was used to measure air resistance and obtain data about the principle of rockets and space flight, which laid the foundation for his creation of space theory.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Tsiolkovsky's research involves almost all kinds of topics, from the choice of rocket fuel to how to overcome the influence of weightlessness, and has made a breakthrough in theoretical research. 1898 completed the classic paper "studying space with jet devices". This paper condensed his research results for many years. But after many twists and turns, this epoch-making work was published in Moscow's Science Review magazine five years later. Subsequently, he published many papers on rockets and space flight in Aviation Report, which laid the theoretical foundation of astronautics. These established tsiolkovsky's position as the founder of space theory.

Tsiolkovsky's "Using Jet Devices to Study Space" opened the way for human beings to fly into space. In this scientific book, he demonstrated the possibility of rockets as interstellar navigation tools and deduced the basic equations of rocket motion. This equation was later named the Tsiolkovsky formula. It introduces the concept of rocket mass ratio, that is, the ratio of the mass before the rocket takes off to the mass after the fuel carried by the rocket is exhausted, and also puts forward the concept of rocket propellant specific impulse for the first time. The greater the mass ratio, the higher the specific impulse and the better the rocket performance. Therefore, rocket mass ratio and propellant specific impulse are of great significance to rocket space flight. At the same time, he also calculated the minimum speed required for rockets to overcome the gravity of the earth, that is, the first cosmic speed, and made it clear for the first time that liquid rockets are ideal tools for interstellar navigation. This marks the real beginning of rocket flight theory and a milestone in the history of space development.

After seven years' efforts, in 19 1 1 year, tsiolkovsky completed the monograph on rocket and space exploration, which further enriched his space theory. In the preface of this book published in serial form, he wrote: "First, we must have ideals, fantasies and even myths, and then make scientific calculations. Only in this way can we finally realize our ideals, and the works about space navigation belong to the creative stage. " Indeed, tsiolkovsky further described the launch and flight of spacecraft, the influence of overweight on astronauts, the weightlessness effect of human beings in space, and the fascinating sight of watching the earth from heaven. All these are based on strict scientific calculation, which fully demonstrates his creative ability and reveals the basic principle of using rockets to explore space.

During his very difficult days as a middle school teacher in tsiolkovsky, he wrote about 130 papers, but only published nearly 50 at his own expense, which was not understood. After the Russian October Revolution, tsiolkovsky's research work was trusted and valued, and he gradually got better living and working conditions, and his idea of conquering space also spread rapidly. In the following 18 years, he wrote 450 manuscripts, such as "Rocket in Space" and "Spaceship", and continued to elaborate his understanding and thinking on interstellar travel. Especially, the space rocket train completed in 1929 has made a detailed theoretical demonstration of multi-stage rockets, which proves that rocket engines using chemical propellants can reach the cosmic speed. "To Astronauts" published by 1930 and "Reaching the Stratosphere" published by 1932 further demonstrated the performance of rocket propellant and various design requirements for rockets. In his later years, he wrote the article "Space Rocket Work", which systematically summarized his work and achievements in the field of rockets and aerospace, and discussed almost all problems of rockets, artificial satellites, manned spacecraft, space bases and interstellar navigation, making great contributions to the establishment of astronautics. In this readme article, he said: "In the course of my work and research, I published the theory of using rocket-like reaction devices to realize space flight. Based on the verified data, it shows that it is possible for human beings to enter space and even emigrate to the outside of the earth's atmosphere. Perhaps when my thoughts were applied, humans not only moved on the surface of the earth, but also flew into space. It has been hundreds of years. " Didn't this prophecy come true?

Since 1930s, tsiolkovsky has no longer groped and fought alone. Instead, under his guidance and influence, Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg) set up special institutions to train a group of rocket experts to study the rocket and space flight initiated by him. 1932, the Soviet government awarded tsiolkovsky the Labor Red Flag Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of space science. 1934 was elected honorary member of academic committee of Jet Research Institute, and the ratio of rocket propellant mass to rocket without propellant was named tsiolkovsky value. 1935 On September 9th, tsiolkovsky died in Kaluga at the age of 78.

Now, a century has passed. People see that space is no longer a mysterious fantasy ridiculed as a "freak". Humans not only frequently carry out space activities, even walk on the moon, but also move towards further goals. This is the future that tsiolkovsky expected in his radio speech to the public on 1 May, 9331:"For 40 years, I have been engaged in the research of rocket principles. I always believe that in the foreseeable future, humans are likely to fly to Mars. Although the times are changing, the ideal of interstellar travel will last forever. Today, I am sure that some of you will sail in the starry sky. "