A multitude of inventions and suggestions were made, but none proved to be of any value until the Anti-Gravitator was invented by the American 969L 9 in the year 2210.
This scientist had made extensive studies of the gyroscope and had finally evolved a machine which when set in motion would rise freely and continue to rise as long as power was supplied.
The action, moreover, was purely gyroscopic.
969L 9 took a large hollow sphere (the rotor) inside of which he built a number of independent gyroscopes, all of which traveled in fixed orbits. The large sphere which hung in a gyroscopic frame was made to spin around on its axis at great speed. This sphere thus acted as the fly-wheel of a gyroscope and as such was not influenced by the so-called horizontal gravity. As in the case of simple gyroscopes, its axis would always be in a vertical line as long as the spheric rotor was in motion.
If, however, the independent gyroscopes inside of the sphere were set in motion by means of electrical current, the Vertical Gravity (weight) was overcome, the entire contrivance rising into the air, its rising (lifting) speed being directly proportional to the speed of the enclosed gyroscope rotors.
From 969L 9's experimental work the anti-gravitators were perfected, and it became possible to lift a weight of 1,000 kilograms with an anti-gravitator weighing but 12 kilograms.
Space flyers were equipped with from six to twelve large anti-gravitators attached to various points of their shells, all of which could be worked in unison, or operated independently in order to control the direction of the flyer.
As Ralph's space flyer rushed through the atmosphere, the friction of the machine against the air made the interior uncomfortably hot in spite of the fact that the machine had triple walls, the spaces between being filled with poor heat conducting materials.
After the flyer, however, had left the atmosphere, the stellar cold rapidly made itself felt.