Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Like us on Facebook
Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Curiosmos
No Result
View All Result

In 1861 a Scientist “Invented” the First Spaceship

Ivan PetricevicbyIvan Petricevic
May 3, 2019 - Updated on May 2, 2023
in Ancient Civilizations
Image by Gizmodo.

Image by Gizmodo.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When you Google ‘Who Invented the Very First Space Ship‘ you won’t get an answer for one man. That’s because no one person actually invented the spacecraft, but it was a collective work involving countless researchers.

The Vostok 1

The first person to be put inside a spaceship and flown into space, orbiting Earth, was Yuri Gagarin inside the Vostok 1 spacecraft. Therefore, many people say that the first spacecraft was Vostok 1. And that may be right and wrong at the same time.

Before Vostok, a number of ‘rockets’ had been produced whose simple goal was to reach the necessary altitude and exit Earth’s atmosphere. But all of that machinery is actually still very new.

The first rocket launch. Image credit: NASA
The first rocket launch. Image credit: NASA

A History of Spacecraft

Even though mankind has only been recent to space (in a historical context), we’ve dreamed about reaching the stars for thousands of years. That’s why ancient civilizations worldwide, from Egypt to Asia, and Europe to the Americas, observed the stars trying to understand our origins.

Related Posts

An ancient Aztec illustration.

The Great Flood According to Ancient Aztec Myth

June 29, 2023 - Updated on February 1, 2025
Artists rendering of the walls of Jericho.

The Oldest Defensive Wall on Earth Predates Egypt’s Oldest Pyramid by 5,300 Years

February 13, 2020 - Updated on January 21, 2024

In July 1950, the launch of the first rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida: the Bumper 2, an ambitious two-stage rocket program that topped a V-2 missile base with a Corporal rocket. But even before Gagarin traveled to space, where he remained for 108 minutes, and before the USA made their very first attempts in building a rocket, people envisioned flying to space.

The Frist Spacecraft concept was in 1861

Not many people know that the very first person who accurately described a vehicle capable of flying outside Earth’s atmosphere propelled by ‘rockets’ was a man in 1861.

As noted by historian Robert Godwin, in 1861, a man called William Leitch successfully applied scientific principles for spaceflight in an essay he wrote. Titled “A Journey Through Space”, and later published in his book God’s Glory in the Heavens (1862), this was the very first description of an actual spacecraft.

William Leitch was “a distinguished astronomer, naturalist, and mathematician,” and his proposal for rocket spaceflight came four decades prior to more well-known proposals by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1903), Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1913), Robert H. Goddard (1914), and Hermann Oberth (1923).

In the essay, Leitch accurately attributed rocket thrust to the “internal reaction” (Newton’s laws of motion) and perfectly identified that rocket thrust is most effective in the vacuum of space.

“The fact that he was a scientist is the key to this story. He wasn’t just making a wild guess. Not only did he understand Newton’s law of action and reaction, he almost dismissively understood that a rocket would work more efficiently in the vacuum of space; a fact that still caused Goddard and others to be subjected to ridicule almost six decades later.”—Robert Godwin.

Have something to add? Visit Curiosmos on Facebook. Join the discussion in our mobile Telegram group.

Share297Tweet98Share27ShareSend
Ivan Petricevic

Ivan Petricevic

I've been writing passionately about ancient civilizations, history, alien life, and various other subjects for more than eight years. You may have seen me appear on Discovery Channel's What On Earth series, History Channel's Ancient Aliens, and Gaia's Ancient Civilizations among others.

Related Posts

The massive statues of the Toltec Warriors holding the curious Handbags of the Gods. Where else has this motif been found? Credit: Britannica
Ancient Civilizations

The Handbag Of The Gods: An Unexplained Symbol Depicted in Ancient Monuments Worldwide

November 12, 2020 - Updated on January 21, 2024
An aerial view of the "citadel" Pyramid of Caral. Image courtesy: peru.travel.
Ancient Civilizations

Caral – the Ancient Pyramid City of Peru Explained in 7 Facts

October 2, 2020 - Updated on January 21, 2024
Avenger Endgame: Thanos’s Gauntlet Inspired by a Catholic Relic
Ancient Civilizations

Avenger Endgame: Thanos’s Gauntlet Inspired by a Catholic Relic

April 30, 2019 - Updated on May 2, 2023
Image: The ancient wall once encompassed the entire Island. Notice the size of the blocks.
Ancient Civilizations

The Arwad megalithic wall guarded an ancient island republic with stones too massive to explain

March 1, 2019 - Updated on April 18, 2025
An aerial view of the Sacred Well. Depositphotos.
Ancient Civilizations

A 3,500-Year-Old Sacred Well That Defies Explanation

January 12, 2023
The Pyramids at Giza at sunset. Shutterstock.
Ancient Civilizations

5 Reasons Why We Still Don’t Know the True Purpose of the Pyramids

August 13, 2019 - Updated on March 8, 2023
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Fair Use Notice
  • DMCA / Removal
  • Impressum
  • Contact
  • Fact-Checking Policy
  • Ethics Policy
  • Ownership and Funding Information
  • Impressum
CURIOSMOS.COM

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists