THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT IN ISRAEL: THE ACCOUNT OF PROPHET ELIJAH

摘要

This paper seeks to make a contribution to the history of astronautics and in particular, human spaceflight: That the earliest expression of the idea or imagination of humans travelling to space was first recorded in the Bible. While the Russian Yuri Gagarin is formally recognised as the first man in space and various authors have expressed the idea of humans in space prior to this event, the Bible records that Elijah the Tishbite who lived in the 9~(th) century B.C. (Before Christ) as having ascended to heaven (space) without a return. Additionally, this paper propounds that the classic account of this event as recorded in the Bible, which originated in Israel, actually draws similar and scientific parallels with modern human spaceflight science and systems. A hypothetical yet systematic and comparative analysis will be made between the ancient account and current developments in order to provide useful information and develop valid basis for further research on the ancient origins of human spaceflight emanating from Israel.