ACROSS THE ATLANTIC BYWCKET.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 154, 2 July 1927, Page 21

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC BYWCKET.

AND SO TO THE MOON! A PROPOSED CONQUEST OF SPACE.

What may prove to be the preliminaries or a voyage to the Moon—that dream-journey ot Cyrano de Bergerac and H. C Wells, and, if reports are to be believed, of latter-day scientists who | are now taking -the project seriously— J can be visualised in the rocket-ship conceived by * young Austrian aviatox-astronomer, Herr Max Vallier. The first step in this conquest of space, according to him. is a way of travelling from one part of the earth to another above the air. at a height of about 200 miles, instead of through it. At such a height the pull of gravity will bo overcome, and this fact, added to negligible resistance, will enable speeds of 500 miles an hour to be attained easily. But a machine must be built that will be-quite independent of the air—or rather the lack of ,ajr la ■■ ilnn nil of Piifusai Fans sals "pvopeßex ahipb— -- - '—— yy* ir •• *- The is Herr Valuers solution to the problem. In it. rockets built into, the wings of the machine will form the system of propulsion* a special form of high explosive being used. Steeling in space would ha done by a universal-jointed gyroscope attachment; the passengers would be in hermetically sealed chambers artificially ventilated and heated. According to reports, the difficulties have been theoretically oveicome, and a special fuel is now being tasted. The first step, which Herr Valuer hopes to take this summer, will be to try a flight with an ordinary aeroplane, the wings of which are fitted with the rocket system. If the experiment is successful, it is hoped that progress will be made towards a machine that is practically a rocket in itself. And so to the Moon I