Funny, off-beat but factually accurate account of the science of rockets and the brilliant but occasionally warped brains behind-it-all.

So who were the three fathers of modern rocket science?

* 19th Century self-taught Russian visionary Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky and his dreams of orbiting space stations and Martian colonies;

* American Robert H Goddard, derided in The New York Times in the 1920s for his prediction of a lunar landing (A retraction was printed after the Apollo 11 launch);

* Transylvanian-German Hermann Oberth with his brilliant theories about space travel and his horrifying theories about racial supremacy.

Plus Helen reveals the surprising connection between space travel and a coach tour of the Jewels of the Rhineland.

Starring:

Helen Keen
Peter Serafinowicz
Susy Kane

Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill.

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011. Show less