Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen

“Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen” by Hermann Oberth (Munich: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1923)

Acquired in 2024

A utopian fantasy or staggering possibility? This was the question provoked when this book on space rockets was first presented as a doctoral treatise at the University of Göttingen in 1922. The professors decided for utopian fantasy, scornfully treating the author Hermann Oberth (1894–1989) as a writer better suited to fiction. In response, Oberth took his work back home to Romania and, after successfully defending his thesis at the University of Cluj, published it with the aviation specialised Oldenbourg Verlag in Munich as “Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen” (The Rocket into Planetary Space) in 1923. Within a few years, and to the likely shock of the sceptical Göttingen professors, the book caused a sensation, capturing imaginations in science and beyond.

It was one of the first treatises to rigorously address the scientific and technical challenges of space travel, presenting a comprehensive theoretical framework for rocketry. Oberth’s book outlines the use of advanced liquid-fuelled rockets, the concept of multi-stage rockets, and the calculations needed to reach escape velocity and overcome the effects of gravity to reach beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. It is also a very stylish publication, and has many futurist qualities in the layout, from the innovative cover font, which crackles with the energy of a rocket launch, to its elegant technical drawings and succinct texts. In 1929, an expanded third edition, retitled “Wege zur Raumschiffahrt” (Ways of Space Travel) was published, a facsimile edition of which is also to be found in the Iron Library’s holdings.

Despite the author’s optimism for a space age to come, even the meanest student of the Second World War cannot help but see in his outline for the Model B two-stage rocket the shadow of the V2, the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. In his expanded third edition, Oberth wrote of the military potential of his designs, and it should come as no surprise that one of his readers was Wernher von Braun (1912–1977), later Oberth’s assistant, who eventually became the leader of the project that developed the V2 missile at Peenemünde.

Reflecting on his career, Oberth charted its trajectory back to his childhood, in Sibiu, Transylvania, where he had been given a copy of Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon” (1865). In such a way, his work can be seen as science inspired by fiction, but his research in turn led to fiction inspired by science. Among his most avid readers was the author Thea von Harbou (1888–1954), who incorporated Oberth’s concepts into her 1928 novel “Frau im Mond” (Woman in the Moon). This she adapted as the screenplay for a film of the same name that was directed by her partner, the now legendary film maker Fritz Lang (1890–1976). Oberth was brought in as a technical advisor on the film, which became one of the most formative in the establishment of the modern science fiction genre. He would later also advise Hergé on “Destination Moon” (1953) and “Explorers on the Moon” (1954) of the Tintin series.

“Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen” is a strong candidate for year zero in the scientific literature of the 20th century’s space race. Space launches, though still spectacular, have become a routine part of modern technology. In 2023 alone there were 223 orbital launches and 2024 is expected to exceed this figure. Among these are the Ariane rockets, specialist components for which are produced by Georg Fischer’s Casting Solutions division.