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Large octavo, pp. [i-v] vi-vii [viii] [1] 2-96, tables in the text, original reddish-brown wrappers printed in black, edges untrimmed. First edition. Printed as a supplement to the March 1928 issue of L'ASTRONOMIE. "Expounds original hypotheses of space flight that the author began to formulate in 1908 independently of the rocketry and astronautical ideas of pioneers Konstantin E. Tsiolkovskii, R. H. Goddard, and Herman Oberth. Calculates optimum rocket shapes, motion of a rocket in a vacuum, and safe acceleration speeds for manned flight. Presents the earliest known suggestions of atomic or nuclear rocket propulsion for planetary space missions, and considers the possibility of extraterrestrial life" (Pisano and Lewis). "One of the earliest and really serious papers on interplanetary travel and on the exploration of the upper atmosphere, by means of rockets. Esnault-Pelleterie"s study is independent of the slightly earlier treatise, in German, by Oberth, which he states he had not seen. The author devotes special attention to the problem of the escape velocity necessary to overcome the earth's gravitational pull, which he estimates at 10,000 meters per second. It was Esnault-Pelterie who coined the term Astronautics for the science of space flight. The present paper appeared as special supplement of the BULLETIN DE LA SOCIÉTÉ ASTRONOMIQUE DE FRANCE, année 42, with a separate half-title and title-page" (Interlibrum). Ciancone 65. Interlibrum 270 #114. Ley, Rockets, Missiles, and Space Travel, revised edition, 1957, p. 505. Norman 714. Pisano and Lewis 1197. Norman 714. Some wear to overlapping edges, front cover soiled, a very good copy. Rare. (#135444). Seller Inventory # 135444
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