: 70 Science fiction magazines, including Gernsback's own Science Wonder Stories, alongside works of pure fiction, published articles popularizing scientific concepts, including early studies and discussions on the feasibility of space travel and many science fiction writers were involved in publishing non-fiction works on space travel, such as articles by Willy Ley or David Lasser's book, The Conquest of Space (1931). : 69 Most works were mainly intended to amuse the readers, but a small number, often written by authors who were also scholars or had a scholarly background, intended to educate its readers about various aspects of space-related science, such as various concepts related to astronomy this trend was encouraged among others by the influential American editor Hugo Gernsback, who referred to this approach as 'sugar-coated science' and 'scientification'. Over the coming centuries, while science fiction addressed many aspects of futuristic science aside from space travel, that particular concept proved to be the most influential and impactful in the mind of both the general public and the genre writers and readers, evoking their sense of wonder.

: 742 In such a grand view, the significance of space travel and inventions such as various forms of 'star drive', can be seen as metaphors for freedom, one of whose aspects is to 'free mankind from the prison of the solar system'. Science fiction critic George Slusser also pointed to Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (1604), in which the main character is able to see the entire earth from high above, and noted the connections of space travel to the earlier dreams of flying and air travel, seen as far back as the writings of Plato and Socrates. : 511–512 Early works of science fiction, called ' proto SF', such as novels by 17th century writers Francis Godwin and Cyrano de Bergerac, or astronomer Johannes Kepler, include 'lunar romances', where much of the action takes place on the Moon.

One of the classic, defining tropes of the science fiction genre is that the action takes place in space, either on board of a spaceship or on another planet. It depicts space travelers in suspended animation. Photo from the program premiere of Lost in Space (1965). In addition to space travel, related works often explored and popularized various concepts such as time dilation, space stations or space colonization. While generally associated with science fiction, space travel, by means of magic or other supernatural forces, such as angels, has also occasionally featured in fantasy. Although the concept of a rocket, popularized by the science fiction works, has been described as one of the icons of the 20th century, : 744 according to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 'The means by which space flight has been achieved in sf – its many and various spaceships – have always been of secondary importance to the mythical impact of the theme'.

: 8, 69–77 While some writers focus on the realistic, scientific and educational aspects of space travel, for others, that concept can be seen as a metaphor for freedom, one of whose aspects is to 'free mankind from the prison of the solar system'. Space travel, whether interplanetary or interstellar, is usually carried out through space ships, and methods of spacecraft propulsion described in various works range from scientifically plausible to totally fictitious. Space travel : 69 : 209–210 : 511–512 or space flight : 200–201 (and less often, starfaring or star voyaging : 217, 220 ) is a major classic theme in science fiction, one that has generally captured the attention of the public and is commonly associated with the typical image of a science fiction plot. A rocket on the cover of Other Worlds sci-fi magazine, September 1951

Sci fi ships concept art