Kelvin Long provides a historical review of the British Interplanetary Society, one of the oldest space advocacy organizations: The British Interplanetary Society at 80 Years – Centauri Dreams.

He discusses some of the early technical studies put forth by members of the BIS including the BIS Moonship in 1939, the Megaroc man-carrying rocket proposal in 1946, and the Lunar Space-Suit in 1949.

When discussing the BIS, I always like to point out that the prestigious American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) can be traced back to the American Interplanetary Society. (See AIAA History.)