Herman Potočnik was the first person to ever calculate the station's geostationary orbit

The word "visionary" is probably overused, but there is one Slovene who can only be described as a "visionary." His name was Herman Potočnik, and in the year 1928 published: The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor. Keep in mind that the beginning of space travel was still 50 years away and even things like "jet power" were in the future. Potočnik, also known as Noordung, also imagined a circular station and was the first person to ever calculate the station's geostationary orbit. It's possible that Stanley Kubrick's space station in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, was inluenced by Potočnik's drawings. Needless to say, he was far too ahead of his time and his brilliance was rejected in Vienna as "fantasy." Like many great geniuses before him, he died poor and unrecognized. He was buried at the age of 36. Many years later, the great genius of Noordung was recognized and he remains a central character in the history of humanity's ventures into space.