FOREWORD to SPACEFLIGHT AN ILLUSTRATED BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF SPACEFLIGHT

摘要

In the early 20th century, visionaries and experimenters began developing the foundations for human spaceflight and taking steps to brings those dreams to reality. To further their cause, they wrote books and articles that described the challenge of human spaceflight and the opportunities that spaceflight presented for humanity. This paper will trace the trail of published works on the development of rocketry and human spaceflight concepts, prior to the launch of "Sputnik," the first Earth satellite, and will include numerous illustrations that provide an imaginative visual record of those dreams. This paper will include works published in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish to offer a broad view of spaceflight dreams as they evolved around the world. In addition, this paper will also provide the first comprehensive record of publications from the former Soviet Union, which offers insight into the popular interest in spaceflight, especially prior to World War II.