Noordung, Herman

1928

• Hermann Noordung published Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums (The Problem of Space Flight). - . Nation: Austria. Related Persons: Noordung. Spacecraft: Noordung.

  Hermann Noordung (the pseudonym for Captain Potocnik of the Austrian Imperial Army) published Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums (The Problem of Space Flight), which included one of the first serious attempts to put on paper the design of a manned space station. Noordung's proposed design consisted of a doughnut-shaped structure for living quarters, a power generating station attached to one end of the central hub, and an astronomical observation station. He was among the first to suggest a wheel-shaped design for a space station to produce artificial gravity, and also argued the scientific value of such a station in a synchronous orbit above the Earth.

1929 January 1

• Death of Herman Noordung. - . Related Persons: Noordung.

  Slovenian Austrian Army Scientist. Noordung was a pseudonym for Captain Herman Potocnik of the Austrian Imperial Army. In 1928 he expanded the ideas of Hermann Oberth in a seminal book, The Problem of Space Travel, focused on the engineering aspects of space stations.

1929 July - September

• Noordung orbiting space observatory - . Nation: Germany. Related Persons: Noordung, Oberth. Spacecraft: Noordung.

  Hermann Noordung (pseudonym for Capt. Potocnik of the Austrian Imperial Army) expanded the ideas of Hermann Oberth on space flight in a detailed description of an orbiting space observatory. The problems of weightlessness, space communications, maintaining a livable environment for the crew, and extravehicular activity were considered. Among the uses of such an observatory were chemical and physical experiments in a vacuum, telescopes of great size and efficiency, detailed mapping of the earth's surface, weather observation, surveillance of shipping routes, and military reconnaissance.