Wege zur Raumschiffahrt
Oberth's pioneering book on space travel / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Ways to space travel) is a book by Hermann Oberth. Written in German, it was published in 1929 by the Munich Oldenbourg publishing house[1] and was considered a standard work in rocketry for a long time. It was - with a new title and completely revised - the 3rd edition of Oberth's first book Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket to Planetary Spaces), published in 1923.[2]
In this work, Oberth “translates the dream of space travel that has been cherished by humanity for centuries into the language of formulas and construction designs.”[3] Even after the introduction of powerful electronic computers that deliver more precise numerical results, this work and its formulas were used in research, development and teaching in space technology because “you can read from the formulas what really matters, how things are connected and how to find the best middle ground between all of this.”[4]