Editing Herman Potočnik

{{Short description|Slovenian military officer, electrical engineer and physicist (1892–1929)}}
{{More footnotes|date=March 2008}}
{{Infobox person
| name   = Herman Potočnik
| image     = Herman_Potocnik_Noordung.jpg
| image_size     = 225px
| caption  = 
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1892|12|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Pula|Pola]], [[Austrian Littoral]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1929|8|27|1892|12|22|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Vienna]], [[First Austrian Republic|Austria]] 
}}
'''Herman Potočnik''' ([[pseudonym]] '''Hermann Noordung'''; 22 December 1892 – 27 August 1929) was an [[Austro-Hungarian Army]] officer, electrical engineer and [[astronautics]] theorist. He is regarded as an early theorist of modern [[space flight]] and is remembered mainly for his work concerning the long-term human habitation of space.

== Early life ==

Potočnik was born in Pola (now [[Pula]]), [[Istria]], then part of the [[Austria-Hungarian]] monarchy (now in [[Croatia]]). His family was of [[Slovenes|Slovene]] ethnicity and originated from [[Lower Styria]] (now [[Slovenia]]).

Both of Potočnik's parents were Slovenian. His father Jožef was born in 1841 in [[Zgornji Razbor]] and at the time of Herman's birth he served as a doctor and a navy officer of the [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]] harbour of Pola. His mother Minka was born February 7, 1854; she was a descendant of [[Czech people|Czech]] immigrants, manufacturers of crucibles for glass-making, and a daughter of a well known wine merchant and local councillor Jožef Kokošinek  from [[Maribor]] (born in [[Vitanje]]). In 1866, Herman's father Jožef participated with the [[Battle of Lissa (1866)|second Battle of Vis]], where the Austrian Navy commanded by [[Wilhelm von Tegetthoff]] defeated the [[Regia Marina|Royal Italian Navy]]. Jožef was later a [[general]] in the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]].

When Herman's father died in 1894, his mother relocated the family to [[Maribor]].  Herman had two brothers, Adolf and Gustav (who were both navy officers), and a sister Frančiška (Franci).  He spent most of his childhood years in Maribor and, according to oral sources, in Vitanje.

The meaning of his [[German language|German-like]] pseudonym Noordung is still a mystery, but some suggest that he used it to indicate the problems of [[Chaos theory|chaos]] (German: ''Ordnung'', "order"; ''ordunga'' in [[Slovene language|Slovene]] colloquial language). Assuming that the initial "N" was intended as a negation, the name could mean "no order".

== Education and military service ==

In Maribor, Potočnik attended primary school. Afterward he attended the military secondary schools in [[Bad Fischau-Brunn|Fischau]] and [[Hranice (Přerov District)|Hranice]] in [[Moravia]].  His uncle Heinrich was a major-general in the army, and probably enabled his study at Austrian military schools. From 1910 to 1913 he studied at the [[Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy]] in [[Mödling]] in Lower Austria (''Niederösterreich'') near [[Vienna]] and graduated as an engineer second lieutenant. His specialization was building of railways and bridges.

During [[World War I]] he served in [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], [[Serbia]] and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] and in 1915 he was promoted to the rank of [[First Lieutenant]] (''Oberleutnant''). He was assigned to the southwestern front of the [[Soca River|Soča]] battlefield and there he experienced a breakthrough of the Austrian army to the river Piava and its retreat. In 1919 he was pensioned from the Austrian military with the rank of captain because of [[tuberculosis]] that he contracted during the war.  He started to study [[electrical engineering]] in the [[mechanical engineering]] department of the [[Vienna University of Technology|University of Technology in Vienna]], Austria, and was awarded a doctorate in engineering. From 1925 onward, he devoted himself entirely to the problems of rocket science and [[space technology]].  Owing to chronic illness, he did not find a job or marry, but lived with his brother Adolf in Vienna, Austria.

== ''The Problem of Space Travel'' ==
[[File:Noordung space station.jpg|thumb|Description of a [[space station]] in Hermann Noordung's ''The Problem of Space Travel'' (1929).<br>
(Legend: ''Achs-Körper'': [[axle]] body. ''Aufzugschacht'': [[elevator]] shaft. ''K'': electric cable to an external observatory. ''Kondensatorrohre'': condenser pipes. ''S'': [[airlock]]. ''Treppenschacht'': [[stairwell]]. ''Verdampfungsrohr'': boiler pipe).]]
At the end of 1928, he published his sole book, ''Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums - der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor)'' in [[Berlin]]. The publisher, Richard Carl Schmidt, printed the year 1929 as a publishing date, probably from a purely business motive (to keep the book looking new throughout the coming year) and this date is often mistakenly given as the actual date of publication. In 188 pages and 100 handmade illustrations, Potočnik described a plan for establishment of a permanent human presence in outer space. He conceived a detailed design for a [[space station]], regarded by Russian and American historians of spaceflight to be the first [[Space architecture]].{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}<!-- strong claims need strong secondary sources  --> 
He described the use of orbiting spacecraft for detailed observation of the ground for peaceful and military purposes, and described how the special conditions of space could be useful for scientific experiments.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=g8PW0_WNTDsC&dq=Noordung+space+station&pg=PA4 ''Walking in Space'' By David Shayler, p.4]</ref> Potočnik expressed strong doubts of the potentially destructive military use of these fresh discoveries.

The book was translated into [[Russian language|Russian]] during early 1935, Slovene in 1986 (by the [[Slovenska matica]]), English in 1995 (by [[NASA]]) and Croatian in 2004 (by [[Marino Fonović]], published by Labin Art Press). A partial translation to English, containing most of the essential chapters, was made as early as 1929 for the American magazine ''[[Wonder Stories|Science Wonder Stories]]'' and was issued in three parts (July, August and September 1929) and credited to "Captain Hermann Noordung, A.D., M.E., Berlin."<ref>[https://archive.org/details/Science_Wonder_Stories_v01n02_1929-07.Stellar_unknown-DPP Science Wonder Stories, vol. 1, no. 2 (July 1929)], pp. 170-180</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Science_Wonder_Stories_v01n03_1929-08.Stellar Science Wonder Stories, vol. 1, no. 3 (August 1929)], pp.
264-273</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Science_Wonder_Stories_v01n04_1929-09.Stellar Science Wonder Stories, vol. 1, no. 4 (September 1929)], pp. 361-368</ref>  The article was also published in Science Wonder Stories' affiliated publication [[Air Wonder Stories]] at the same time.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGSuBgAAQBAJ&q=captain+hermann+noordung&pg=PA159|title = Air Wonder Stories, August 1929|isbn = 9781312107472|last1 = Juve|first1 = Henrik Dahl|last2 = Repp|first2 = Ed Earl|last3 = MacClure|first3 = Victor|last4 = Chappelow|first4 = Edward E.|date = 15 April 2014| publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref>

With his many ideas he became one of the founders of astronautics. His concepts were first considered seriously only by amateur rocketeers in Germany, the ''[[Verein für Raumschiffahrt]]'' (VfR - "Spaceflight Society"), the most notable of whom was [[Hermann Oberth]]. In its Russian edition, the book may also have influenced [[Sergey Korolev]] and his acquaintances.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
More locally, Viennese engineers dismissed his work as fantasy.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

[[File:Noordung's Space Station Habitat Wheel - GPN-2003-00101.jpg|thumb|The space station ''Wohnrad'' (Living Wheel).]]
Potočnik's book described geostationary satellites (first proposed by [[Konstantin Tsiolkovsky]]) and discussed communication between them and the ground using radio, but did not suggest the idea of using satellites for mass broadcasting and as telecommunications relays (developed by [[Arthur C. Clarke]] in his article ''[[Wireless World]]'' of 1945). The wheel-shaped space station served as an inspiration for further development by [[Wernher von Braun]] (another former VfR member) in 1952.  Von Braun considered orbiting space stations as intermediate to travel to other planets.  In 1955 and 1968, [[George Pal]]'s and [[Byron Haskin]]'s ''[[Conquest of Space]]'' (based on Wernher von Braun's published concepts: first, several articles in [[Collier's]] magazine 1952– 54, co-written with [[Willy Ley]] and [[Chesley Bonestell]], and later developed into books from [[Viking Press]]. <ref>Miller, Thomas Kent. ''Mars in the Movies: A History''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-9914-4}}. p.60  {{ISBN|978-0-7864-9914-4}}</ref>) and [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s movie ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', respectively, depicted such a role for "Space Station V".

== Death ==

Potočnik died of [[pneumonia]] at the age of 36 while in great poverty in Vienna, [[Austria]], and was buried there. An obituary notice about his death was printed in one Maribor daily newspaper, mentioning his ranks (engineers and captain), his illness, but nothing about his work regarding space.

== Legacy ==

* Streets in [[Graz]] and [[Ljubljana]] now bear his name.
* A proposal was made during the late 1990s to name the [[International Space Station]] after him, but was not adopted.
* In 1999 a two-day international memorial symposium about his life and work was held at the [[University of Maribor]], celebrating the 70th anniversary of the first printing of his famous book.
* [[Asteroid]] [[19612 Noordung]], found in 1999 at [[Črni Vrh Observatory]], is named after him.
* In 2006, the Herman Potočnik Noordung Memorial Centre (HPNMC) was built in [[Vitanje]], Slovenia.
* There is activity to construct a statue of Herman Potočnik in his birthplace of Pula.
* In 2012, the [[KSEVT|Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT)]], inspired by his work, was built in Vitanje, Slovenia.

== See also ==

* [[Timeline of space exploration]]
* [[Rotating wheel space station]]
* [[Noordung (NSK)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Herman Potočnik}}
* about the Memorial Centre on Culture.si: [http://www.culture.si/en/Herman_Poto%C4%8Dnik_Noordung_Memorial_Centre_Vitanje HPNMC Vitanje]
* about Potočnik on Vesolje.net: [https://web.archive.org/web/20020925100934/http://noordung.vesolje.net/ Herman Potočnik Noordung]
* the unofficial Memorial Centre and KSEVT blog: [http://noordung.blogspot.com Noordung Orbit]
* Potočnik's book at NASA (info): [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/gpo/travel.html ''"The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511170946/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/gpo/travel.html |date=2021-05-11 }}
* Potočnik's book at NASA (full electronic text): [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4026/contents.html ''"The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229140929/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4026/contents.html |date=2021-12-29 }}
* Potočnik's book at NASA (scans): [https://books.google.com/books?id=te15mpHmmTwC ''"The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor"'']
* original book in German (scans): [http://bhaak.net/buchscans/noordung.html ''"Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums: Der Raketenmotor"'']
* Complete French version of the book by Hermann Noordung : [[:Commons:File:Le_probl%C3%A8me_du_voyage_dans_l%27espace.pdf|Le problème du voyage dans l'espace]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Potocnik, Herman}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:Early spaceflight scientists]]
[[Category:People from Pula]]
[[Category:Engineers from Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Inventors from Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:TU Wien alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Austria]]
[[Category:20th-century Hungarian inventors]]
[[Category:20th-century engineers]]