Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky Quotes & Sayings

Man must at all costs overcome the Earth's gravity and have, in reserve, the space at least of the Solar System. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Men are weak now, and yet they transform the Earth's surface. In millions of years, their might will increase to the extent that they will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, the atmosphere, and themselves. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

All our knowledge - past, present, and future - is nothing compared to what we will never know. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Mankind will not forever remain on Earth but, in the pursuit of light and space, will first timidly emerge from the bounds of the atmosphere and then advance until he has conquered the whole of circumsolar space. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

From the moment of using rocket devices, a great new era will begin in astronomy: the epoch of the more intensive study of the firmament. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

First, inevitably, the idea, the fantasy, the fairy tale. Then, scientific calculation. Ultimately, fulfillment crowns the dream. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Consider a cask filled with a highly compressed gas. If we open one of its taps the gas will escape through it in a continuous flow, the elasticity of the gas pushing its particles into space will continuously push the cask itself. The result will a continuous change in the motion of the cask. Given a sufficient number of taps (say, six), we would be able to regulate the outflow of the gas as we liked and the cask (or sphere) would describe any curved line in accordance with any law of velocities. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

For me, a rocket is only a means
only a method of reaching the depths of space
and not an end in itself ... There's no doubt that it's very important to have rocket ships since they will help mankind to settle elsewhere in the universe. But what I'm working for is this resettling ... The whole idea is to move away from the Earth to settlements in space. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

I do not remember how it got into my head to make the first calculations related to rocket. It seems to me the first seeds were planted by famous fantaseour, J. Verne. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

The world is desperately imperfect. Even if a quarter of the working people were engrossed in new thoughts and inventions and lived off the others, humanity would still gain tremendously thanks to the constant stream of inventions and intellectual work emerging from this horde of people striving upward. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

All the universe is full of the lives of perfect creatures. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

From the rocket we can see the huge sphere of the planet in one or another phase of the Moon. We can see how the sphere rotates, and how within a few hours it shows all its sides successively ... and we shall observe various points on the surface of the Earth for several minutes and from different sides very closely. This picture is so majestic, attractive and infinitely varied that I wish with all my soul that you and I could see it. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

My entire life consisted of musings, calculations, practical works, and trials. Many questions remain unanswered; many works are incomplete or unpublished. The most important things still lie ahead. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

The blue distance, the mysterious Heavens, the example of birds and insects flying everywhere - are always beckoning Humanity to rise into the air. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly at first, but in the end to conquer the whole of solar space. — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky