Excerpt from A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes

Published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1919; also available at Clark University (Web site)

Since the late seventeenth century, scientists have been fascinated with the idea of space travel. The initial scientific work that allowed scientists to dream about traveling to the stars was performed by Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727). His ideas were built upon in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, allowing for the development of primitive rockets—not for space travel, however, but for use in wartime. These rockets changed the face of modern warfare, but they were so inaccurate that large numbers were required to destroy a single target. By the end of the nineteenth century, warfare rockets momentarily became obsolete. Once again, some scientists turned their attention...