Rockets.

A youth book in Detgiz’s School Library series, with cover and drawings by N. Kolchitsky and technical drawings by A. Katkovsky. The preface presents jet engines and rockets as a proud Russian achievement, crediting Konstantinov, Kibalchich, Tsiolkovsky, Tsander and others.

Nine chapters trace the rocket, its history and its creators, the new rocket and the rocket projectile, new aircraft engines, “a thousand kilometres an hour” jet flight, the conquest of altitude, and the conquest of interplanetary space, where the author describes light-sail propulsion and aerobraking. The conclusion reproduces Tsiolkovsky’s 1935 letter to Stalin and the reply, and calls on young readers to prepare for careers in rocketry.

Liapunov’s earlier Rocket (1948, Catalog C) from the same publisher is also in the collection.