Feather-based Jacobean Space Chariot

simonmsh writes "The article Cromwell's moonshot: how one Jacobean scientist tried to kick off the space race describes 17th century plans to build a space chariot out of springs, feathers and gunpowder. The design was based on the idea that gravity disappeared at an altitude of 20 miles, which was called into question by Hooke ^? and Boyle ^? 's work. It sounds like the plot of a Neal Stephenson book." Said book, and its sequels are phenomenal.

Re:just 2 more miles and they'd have made it !

[91degrees]

ehm... wouldn't that be 22000 miles.

Re:Ancient Flying Machines in India

[RandomWordGenerator]

Hmm, this sounds great - but as with all these things I would welcome a Vedic scholars perspective. With my massive researching skills I found this quote which sheds a little light.

"...There is one book entitled Vaimanika-sastra that was dictated in trance during this century (20th - I assume. RWG)and purports to be a transcription of an ancient work preserved in the Akashic record." "The medium in this case was Pandit Subbaraya Sastry, a 'walking lexicon gifted with occult perception', who began to dictate the Vaimanika-sastra to Mr. Venkatachala Sarma on August 1, 1918. The complete work was taken down in 23 exercise books up to August 23, 1923. In 1923, Subbaraya Sastry also had a draftsman prepare some drawings of the vimanas according to his instructions." quote ref [mystae.com]

This sounds a little suspicious to me. A little like John Edward 'dictating' a new chapter of the Old Testament called "Moses had Laser Pistols"

Re:Too Bad they did not consider Space Travel Soon

[youngerpants]

Actually, in the middle ages they never actually believed the earth to be flat; this is backed up by religious and maritime texts of the age.

The myth was actually started in 18th Century England to prove the cultural and scientific superiority of the time.

Nobel Prize Winner

[bayers]

I wonder if this 'space chariot' is the basis of Balthazar and Blimunda [amazon.com] . The author won a Nobel Prize for the book. In the book, the device works. It's a good read.