MODERN ROCKET PROPULSION Hermann J. Oberth (1894-1989) was a German physicist who studied rockets and wrote books on how they could be used to launch objects into space. He originated the idea of “stages,” which explained that once a fuel tank is empty, it should be dropped away so that its weight doesn't slow down the spaceship. His doctoral dissertation was rejected because it did not fit into any established scientific discipline, so he published it privately as "The Rocket into Interplanetary Space" in 1923. It, and an expanded version in 1929, set forth the basic principles of spaceflight and inspired many subsequent spaceflight pioneers. 16 of 32
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