DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Fantasite, v. 2, issue 5, whole 11, May-June 1943

Transcribe
Translate

Fantasite, v. 2, issue 5, whole 11, May-June 1943

Page 23

THE FANTASITE ... 23

ASTRONAUTICS in ENGLAND
FORREST J ACKERMAN

Rocketry came to the fore on the British scene in 1933, when the British Interplanetary Society was formed to study the science of space-travel and convince the layman of the possibility of the conquest of "the void" via rocket. Though many members were engineers and scientists, technical training was not a requisite, only imagination and enthusiasm for the subject being required. 

The BIS was conducting original research into every aspect of astronautics, from rocket-motor design and the every-present fuel problem to orbital theory and actual astrogation. meetings were held periodically, talks and lectures given; from time to time the apparatus that was constructed by BIS' Technical Committee was demonstrated. The results of the Society's work were made available to domestic as well as foreign members by its journal, published, I believe, semi-annually, at 6d, and similar to our American journal in size and appearance. 

Interesting to note is that from Pres., Prof. AMLow, DSc, through V-Ps Cleator and Johnson, Treasurer Clarke, Organizing Secretary Smith, and Publicity Director William F. Temple, the Council of the BIS was composed either of authors or avid readers of that special brand of literature based on the extrapolation of present knowledge, known by the coined word combination "scientifiction". 

Supplement to the journal was the monthly Bulletin, with general interest articles by experts in every country. 

Known English organizations included the London Branch of the BIS, the Manchester Interplanetary Society, and the Paisley Rocketeers' Society, the latter in Scotland.

Three types of membership were open in the BIS: Active at $2.50 a year; Associate Membership at $1.75; and Associateship for 75¢.

The BIS had designed a cellular rocket claimed capable not only of escaping Earth but of landing on Luna--and returning. Ninety percent of its mass was fuel. It was to weigh a thousand tons, of which but one or two would be the payload. Problems of temperature, gravity, food, atmosphere, exploration--all were planned in detail to take two, or possibly three, men to the moon....and bring them back alive. The avowed object in designing the spaceship was to bring spaceflight into the realm of practical engineering. 

The Society concentrated its attention on the task of meriting a reputation for sound scientific work. There was a Technical Committee whose purpose it was to produce jet-propelled vessels capable of travelling in a vacuum. Rough tests were made of over eighty suggested fuels, solids being favored because no method had been found to use liquid i the special cellular construction. Re motor design, the Sanger theory of jet propulsion, with slight modifications, was shown to correspond with practical results. As to make-up, the BIS ship was divided, in plan, laterally into steps, higher being smaller than lower. Each step divided longitudinally into cellules, larger steps at the bottom containing fewer cellules than smaller steps at the top. Each cellule a complete unit, comprising a motor with its load of fuel. Firing electrically controlled. Each cellule detached directly fired so heat could not penetrate adjacent wall and prematurely ignite another cellule.

I have one report of an experiment in Calcutta, India, where a rocketrain of three compartments was built and launched, successfully going "a considerable distance". (Continued on next page"

Saving...

THE FANTASITE ... 23 ASTRONAUTICS in ENGLAND FORREST J ACKERMAN Rocketry came to the fore on the British scene in 1933, when the British Interplanetary Society was formed to study the science of space-travel and convince the layman of the possibility of the conquest of "the void" via rocket. Though many members were engineers and scientists, technical training was not a requisite, only imagination and enthusiasm for the subject being required. The BIS was conducting original research into every aspect of astronautics, from rocket-motor design and the every-present fuel problem to orbital theory and actual astrogation. meetings were held periodically, talks and lectures given; from time to time the apparatus that was constructed by BIS' Technical Committee was demonstrated. The results of the Society's work were made available to domestic as well as foreign members by its journal, published, I believe, semi-annually, at 6d, and similar to our American journal in size and appearance. Interesting to note is that from Pres., Prof. AMLow, DSc, through V-Ps Cleator and Johnson, Treasurer Clarke, Organizing Secretary Smith, and Publicity Director William F. Temple, the Council of the BIS was composed either of authors or avid readers of that special brand of literature based on the extrapolation of present knowledge, known by the coined word combination "scientifiction". Supplement to the journal was the monthly Bulletin, with general interest articles by experts in every country. Known English organizations included the London Branch of the BIS, the Manchester Interplanetary Society, and the Paisley Rocketeers' Society, the latter in Scotland. Three types of membership were open in the BIS: Active at $2.50 a year; Associate Membership at $1.75; and Associateship for 75¢. The BIS had designed a cellular rocket claimed capable not only of escaping Earth but of landing on Luna--and returning. Ninety percent of its mass was fuel. It was to weigh a thousand tons, of which but one or two would be the payload. Problems of temperature, gravity, food, atmosphere, exploration--all were planned in detail to take two, or possibly three, men to the moon....and bring them back alive. The avowed object in designing the spaceship was to bring spaceflight into the realm of practical engineering. The Society concentrated its attention on the task of meriting a reputation for sound scientific work. There was a Technical Committee whose purpose it was to produce jet-propelled vessels capable of travelling in a vacuum. Rough tests were made of over eighty suggested fuels, solids being favored because no method had been found to use liquid i the special cellular construction. Re motor design, the Sanger theory of jet propulsion, with slight modifications, was shown to correspond with practical results. As to make-up, the BIS ship was divided, in plan, laterally into steps, higher being smaller than lower. Each step divided longitudinally into cellules, larger steps at the bottom containing fewer cellules than smaller steps at the top. Each cellule a complete unit, comprising a motor with its load of fuel. Firing electrically controlled. Each cellule detached directly fired so heat could not penetrate adjacent wall and prematurely ignite another cellule. I have one report of an experiment in Calcutta, India, where a rocketrain of three compartments was built and launched, successfully going "a considerable distance". (Continued on next page"