First Steps Toward Space; Proceedings of the First and Second History Symposia of the International Academy of astronautics at Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 26 September 1967, and New York, U.S.A., 16 October 1968

vi, [2], 307, [1] pages. A Bibliographical Note. Formulae. Illustrations. Notes. References. Tabular Data. Index. Sticker residue on the back cover. Some cover wear and soiling. This is Smithsonian Annals of Flight Number 10 (Final Number in Series). Among the topics and individuals addressed are: NASA, Space Exploration, Jet Propulsion, Robert Esnault-Pelterie, Rocket, Propellant, Multistage Rocket, Robert Goddard, Giulio Costanzi, Astrodynamics, Vladimir Mandl, Gas Dynamics Laboratory, GALCIT, Hermann Oberth, Ludvik Ocenasek, Ramjet, Korolyev, Wilhelm Unge, Spacecraft, Annapolis Rocker Motor. Frederick Clark Durant III (December 31, 1916- October 21, 2015) was an American author, naval test pilot, chemical engineer, and expert in rocketry and spaceflight. Durant served as a "key advisor" to U.S. military, intelligence, and space-flight programs, playing a central role in Project Orbiter, the first US satellite program. In his later years, Durant served as assistant director of the National Air and Space Museum and an editor of Encyclopædia Britannica. In May 1941, Durant enlisted as a US naval aviation cadet. Durant went on to serve as naval aviator and flight instructor. In 1946, retired from the Navy at the rank of Commander in the Naval Reserves. In 1951, Durant returned to service as a test pilot, ultimately flying some 30 different types of aircraft. In 1947, Durant began work as a rocket engineer with Bell Aircraft. From 1948 to 1951, he served as Director of Engineering at the U.S. Naval Air Rocket Test Station at Dover, NJ. In 1953, he became the president of the American Rocket Society. George S. James was an American inventor. The fabric of the history of astronautics is woven of stories of individuals and small groups who developed the technologies of rocketry while dreaming of space flight. At least this was true until World War II. Since then, the complexity of guided missiles and rocket-powered aircraft has required much larger enterprises. Official recognition and financial support for such developments were difficult to obtain. Progress was made largely through the personal initiative and dedicated effort of idealists who were deeply convinced that one day man would travel through space. Because much of the detailed history of these technical developments from 1900-1939 has not been available in the published literature, the International Academy of Astronautics of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) commenced sponsorship of a series of symposia of the history of rocketry and astronautics. The first symposium was held at Belgrade in 1967. Subsequent symposia have been held at New York (1968), Mar del Plata (1969), Constance (1970), Brussels (1971), Vienna (1972), and Baku (1973). The proceedings of the first two symposia on the history of rocketry and astronautics form the contents of this volume of the series Smithsonian Annals of Flight. The combination of memoirs and papers from the first and second symposia make it possible to present in one volume new information on the work of leading investigators of astronautics and their associates in the first third of the 20th century. Thus, the student of the history of astronautics can study independent and parallel efforts which led to the Space Age. "Pre-1939 Memoirs of Astronautics" was the theme of the first IAA History of Astronautics symposium, organized with the cooperation of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, and held on Tuesday, 26 September 1967, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, during the XVIII Congress of the IAF. The philosophy of the organizing committee was to invite living pioneers in astronautics so that they might present memoirs. Of the 13 presentations, three were made by the men themselves: O. Lutz, F. J. Malina, and E. A. Steinhoff. The other ten authors were unable to come to Belgrade and their papers were read by other speakers. These papers appeared in Iz istorii astronavtiki i raketnoi tekhniki: Mater.…