"Who are planning the first mission to the moon. Do not be afraid. There is no physical reason why you cannot achieve this.”—Yuri Kondratyuk.
Cassini-Huygens, Voyager, New Horizons. These three inspiring space probes have one thing in common - interplanetary travel. Since their missions, we have learned a lot about our solar system and its origin. However, deep space travel and the Moon landing could not have been possible without a forgotten visionary scientist - Yuri Kondratyuk.
Early Life
Born as Oleksandr Shargei in 1897, he became an orphan at a young age and lived with his grand-mother and her husband. At the time of his birth, his father studied mathematics and physics at Kiev University. Shargei demonstrated an impressive ability in the aforementioned subject and read his father’s textbooks. He was later accepted to a prestigious school, where he earned a gold medal for his academic excellency.
While studying engineering at Great Polytechnic in Petrograd, Russia, he was drafted to the army to serve the USSR during World War I. During the war, he planned interplanetary travel and proposed lunar-orbit rendezvous, which was later adopted by Apollo program engineers. He included thorough calculations for entering lunar orbit and returning to Earth orbit, now known as "Kondratyuk's loop".
After the Russian Revolution, when the Bolshevik's took over the government, he changed his name to Yuri Kondratyuk for the fear of his life and arrest. He tried to make his escape to Poland, but the border guards noticed symptoms of typhus in him and sent him back. He was nursed back to health by his neighbor.
While working as a mechanic and railroad worker in 1926, he wrote a self-published book titled 'Conquest of Interplanetary Space' which dealt with rocket motion and space colonization. It also suggested using gravitational assist to slingshot and speed up a spacecraft.
Kondratyuk's exact reason of death is unknown. However, it is believed his cause of death was during World War II when he joined the Red Army and killed in action in 1942.
Contribution to Apollo Program
50 years later, after publishing his book, it grabbed the attention of an engineer of Apollo program, James Houbolt. Relieved, Houbolt convinced NASA to select Kondratyuk's LOR theory and won the Space Race against Soviet Union.
Watching the Apollo 11 landing in retrospect evokes a sentimental feeling as it strikes us we're experiencing Kondratyuk's dreams come true. After the Apollo program, spacecrafts use the gravity assist maneuver that helps reach the mission objectives sooner.
During his visit to Russia after his historic flight to the moon, Neil Armstrong took a handful of dirt outside Kondratyuk's childhood home to acknowledge and honor the man who made his mission possible.
Watch the Apollo 11 moon landing below to admire the efforts of the man who lived a tragic life yet achieved success.
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