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Herman Potočnik Noordung and Vitanje
From Culture.si
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Past Events
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25 Feb 2016
The opening of the Herman Potočnik Noordung memorial room, organised in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia Moscow,
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to
1 May 2010
31 Oct 2010
Slovene Pavillion at Expo 2010 Shanghai featuring Herman Potočnik Noordung, Starck with Riko, Primož Trubar and World Book Capital Ljubljana 2010, with contributions by Oskar Kogoj, Matej Andraž Vogrinčič, and Slavoj Žižek
Herman Potočnik Noordung
A visionary with an extraordinary technological imagination and an astounding philosophy of existence, Herman Potočnik Noordung was the author of the first strategic plan for the human exploration of space, whose predictions enjoy growing confirmation with each new extra-terrestrial accomplishment in the modern era. Born in 1892 to Slovene parents in Pula, Croatia, he spent World War I as a first lieutenant, assisting in the construction of bridges and railway lines in Soča and Piavo. In 1925 he completed his engineering and electro-technical studies in Vienna with the title Specialist in Rocket Technology. Years of dire economic hardship and illness coincided with his design of a futuristic rocket and exploration of space-travel technology. Despite the setbacks the first notes for a book emerged, inspired by the writings of German rocket scientist Hermann Oberth. By 1928 Noordung had completed a rough draft of all the chapters, and in 1929, shortly before his death, the book Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums was published. Running to 188 pages and featuring 100 of his own drawings, it discusses gravity and ways of overcoming it, looks at the space technology used in everyday life, contemplates the efficiency of the rocket while warning against its possible misuse for military purposes, and envisions a geostationary satellite that would circle around the globe indefinitely with enviable precision. The concluding thought of the fourth and last segment of Herman's book is about the drive for nuclear and photonic technology which would make it possible to travel to nearby planets in our universe. The book considered space travel not as mere day-dreaming but as a very real technological possibility.
Programme
Since Noordung left no tangible work behind besides his world-renowned book, a Slovene director has gone about recreating Potočnik's life in video form, which is displayed at the Centre.
The Centre has occasionally hosted the astronauts (e.g. Christer Fuglesang, Sunita Williams) and other prominent guests.
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