Rockets Through Space Winston Science Fiction Book 31 Lester del Rey James Heugh
Download As PDF : Rockets Through Space Winston Science Fiction Book 31 Lester del Rey James Heugh 
ROCKETS THROUGH SPACE is a juvenile science fact book, published first in 1957 as a companion to the Winston Science Fiction series. Of course, at the time of its publication, no one had yet been into space and even the first satellite launch was still in the future. But the Space Age was coming and this book was one of those that explained what that meant to the young people of the time. Here's how it was described then
"We are on the threshold of Space. Very soon - perhaps before this book appears - the first man-made satellites will be launched by rockets into outer space and will begin to circle the Earth. What we learn from the instruments in these tiny spheres will help us to take the next important steps in our efforts to explore the Moon and, later, the far reaches of the Universe.
"In this absorbing book, Mr. del Rey explains why the idea of penetrating the great void of Space is no longer a wild dream. ROCKETS THROUGH SPACE is not a science-fiction book. It is science fact. Here you will read what we already know about the realms beyond Earth's atmosphere. You will examine the inside of a future rocketship. You will learn the principles of jet propulsion; how men will live where there is no gravity; what dangers will be faced by the first daring pioneers in Space.
"As far as human ingenuity can determine, every detail will be worked out in advance. Very little will be left to chance. Yet, as in all ventures into the unknown, experience alone can give us the final answers.
"ROCKETS THROUGH SPACE gives every known answer to the questions young people ask about space travel. At the same time, it offers fascinating speculation, including the best theories proposed by scientists, about those questions which will only be answered when men are actually out there.
"This is a book every young air- and space-minded reader must have."
Rockets Through Space Winston Science Fiction Book 31 Lester del Rey James Heugh
I hadn't read this book since I was 10 or 11 years old, back in 1960 or so. Lester Del Rey's clear-headed style, and his dispelling of errors and popular cliches formed in pulp sci-fi. was sufficiently lucid that I remembered much of his commentary 50 years after the fact.Product details
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Rockets Through Space Winston Science Fiction Book 31 Lester del Rey James Heugh Reviews
In the 1950s it was assumed “the conquest of space” would be a linear progression. First there would be a space station -- a huge rotating wheel orbiting about 1,700 km above the earth. From there people would travel to the moon. Within a few years there would be permanent lunar settlements. Then on to Mars, Venus, and in the early 21st century commercial space liners would be plying the space lanes between the inner planets. The only writer who projected a possible problem with this scenario was Robert Heinlein, who built a 70-year space travel hiatus into his “future history” timeline. That interlude, however, was caused by politics, not technology or economics.
As we know from the perspective of 2014 things didn’t exactly work out that way. We have a space station, but there are only a handful of residents at any given time, and it looks nothing like a wheel. No one has set foot on the moon for more than 40 years, and no one has ever been to Mars. There are now – or soon will be – operational commercial spaceships, but they will only take astral travelers on short suborbital flights. Two factors made the space dreams of the mid-20th Century just that – dreams. Progress in electronics reduced rooms full of computer hardware to the size of a fingernail, permitting construction of robotic spacecraft that made it unnecessary for people to travel long distances to advance knowledge of the solar system. Without a need for human explorers, the “dismal science” of economics raised its hand and the grand visions of people quickly spreading throughout the solar system evaporated. But what a grand vision it was – and still is.
The first edition of Rockets Through Space by Lester del Rey was published in 1957, just weeks before the world was stunned by the launch of Sputnik I. A revised edition, published in 1960, replaced speculation about artificial satellites written before the first launches with an account of actual developments between October 4, 1957, and 1960. The John C. Winston Company published the first edition. It is sometimes listed with the Winston Science Fiction Series novels, although it is not science fiction in any sense. Del Rey was one of the most accomplished authors who wrote for Winston in the 1950s. His skill as a fiction writer carries over very well to this non-fiction work. The space travel technology in the book is largely based on writings and statements by Willy Ley and Wernher von Braun, which were also the inspiration for many space travel details in 1950s science fiction. SF writers did tend to make travel times much shorter than they could possibly be with von Braun’s technology!
The 1957 version of Rockets Through Space begins with informed speculation about small artificial satellites and wraps up with imaginative speculation about multi-generation voyages to the stars, and even gives a nod to the possibility that there may be an as yet undreamed of interstellar travel technology. On the way, the book covers space station construction and operation, travel to and exploration of the moon, journeys to Mars and other planets, space colonies, and extraterrestrial life. Del Rey doesn’t gloss over the technical and economic challenges of creating an interplanetary civilization. He even devotes a chapter to debunking many of the standard clichés of SF he and other writers regularly employ. War between planets? Impossible, but also unnecessary. Space piracy? Not lucrative. Rapid interstellar travel? Not by any means known to 20th century physics (or so far to 21st century physics). Del Rey dismisses the possibility of ray guns, but within a year (1958) the concept of the laser was published. The first laser was actually fired in 1960. Within 20 years the possibility of weaponized lasers, as well as particle beam and EMP weapons was established fact. We’re still far from the time when hand-held ray guns will replace 9 mms, but energy weapons on naval vessels, tanks, and maybe spaceships no longer look like fantasy, as del Rey characterized them. Maybe warp drive isn’t all that far-fetched after all!
For readers who remember the euphoria of the nascent space age, Rockets Through Space represents a reprise of the certainty we had that we were on the threshold of interplanetary civilization. For younger readers the book will be an interesting excursion into the hopes and dreams their parents and grandparents had of a soon-to-be time when people would soar through space in wheels spinning 1,000 miles over the earth, live in domes on the surface of the moon, explore the deserts of Mars, and travel at will from world to world. It’s sure to be an interesting read for people of all ages.
The new Thunderchild Publishing e-book edition of Rockets Through Space is a superb reissue of the original 1957 edition. The numerous graphics are sharp and rendered in vibrant color. The illustrations by James Heugh are so brilliant the book is best enjoyed with a color reader, but don’t let lack thereof discourage you. The pictures look pretty good on a Paperwhite, but to really enjoy them put the appropriate ap on your tablet or smartphone ASAP.
frankly, I only needed one book of this serie, but i decided to keep this book too, maybe I can sell this one later
nice read
I hadn't read this book since I was 10 or 11 years old, back in 1960 or so. Lester Del Rey's clear-headed style, and his dispelling of errors and popular cliches formed in pulp sci-fi. was sufficiently lucid that I remembered much of his commentary 50 years after the fact.
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