British Interplanetary Society

a public organization founded in 1933. In 1936 the society had 100 members; that same year a technical committee was organized whose tasks included the study of spacecraft design and equipment. By 1939 the society’s members had developed a detailed plan of a spaceship designed for a three-member crew and a 20-day expedition to the moon. During the postwar years study groups were organized to theoretically work out such problems in astronautics as space-station design, astronauts’ space suits, rendezvous and fueling of spacecraft in orbit, the use of nuclear energy in rocket engines, and the creation of a global system of communication with artificial earth satellites. The first International Astronautical Congress was held in Paris in 1950; it was organized by British and German interplanetary societies. The second congress, held in London, adopted the constitution for the International Astronautical Federation, which was based on the charter of the British Interplanetary Society. According to the constitution, the aims of the International Astronautical Federation are to cooperate in the development of astronautics, interplanetary investigations, and cosmic communication by conducting studies, publishing discoveries, and promoting international collaboration in astronautics. The British Interplanetary Society publishes the journal Spaceflight (since 1956) and organizes topical symposia.