An astonishing discovery reveals a 16th-century document containing instructions for space flight, centuries before humanity ventured into space.
The Sibiu Manuscript, dating back to 1555, is a fascinating historical document from the 16th century that appears to describe advanced technology concepts, including rocketry and multistage rockets—centuries before the advent of modern space flight.
The manuscript is named after Sibiu (Hermannstadt in German), the Romanian city where it was discovered in 1961.
The 450-page document is attributed to Conrad Haas, an Austrian military engineer, who served the Habsburg Empire and worked in Sibiu.
Haas was known for his interest in technology and is believed to have authored these plans and descriptions.
The Sibiu Manuscript includes detailed descriptions and diagrams of rockets, including three-stage rockets and designs with stabilising fins.
It also covers concepts of liquid fuel and propulsion, all of which were far beyond the known technology of the 1500s.
In particular, the manuscript’s descriptions of multistage rockets and stabilisation techniques demonstrate knowledge that would only later become central to modern rocket science.
Some scholars even see it as a precursor to the technology that would eventually enable space exploration.
While some aspects of the manuscript may have been hypothetical or theoretical, they show that early European engineers were exploring ambitious ideas about propulsion and flight.
The manuscript adds to the history of early rocket science and is seen as an extraordinary example of scientific foresight.
Prior to the discovery of the Sibiu Manuscript, Kazimierz Siemienowicz was credited with the first description of a three-stage rocket.
Born in the Raseiniai region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Siemienowicz served in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army. In 1650, he published Artis Magnae Artilleriae, a treatise that delves into rocketry and pyrotechnics, reports indy100.com
In his manuscript, Haas also issued a caution against using rockets for warfare.
