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Author Archives: asteitel
Alan Bean and the Sun-Fried Camera
Among its notable accomplishments, Apollo 12 is famous for having returned no video of Pete Conrad and Al Bean exploring the lunar surface. Though the lunar landing crew carried a colour TV camera to bring their mission to the world … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Polyus-Skif: the Soviet’s Laser-Wielding Satellite That Almost Was
On the evening of Wednesday, March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan delivered a televised address about defense and national security. “Let me share with you a vision of the future,” the president began a last-minute addition to the half-hour speech. … Continue reading
Posted in History of Space Science, Soviet, Unmanned Spaceflight
Tagged Buran, Energia, Polyus-Skif, Soviet
2 Comments
Sandwiches in Space
Most of NASA’s Apollo program files are publicly available, in many cases digitized and accessible online. But there’s one picture from the Apollo 12 files that I’ve never been able to find much information about: a picture of a suit … Continue reading
Posted in Apollo, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Moon
Tagged Al Bean, Apollo, Apollo12, Dick Gordon, Gus Grissom, John Young, NASA, Pete Conrad
5 Comments
The Gemini Paraglider on SciAm’s Space Lab
Most regular readers of Vintage Space will know that I’m obsessed with the Gemini Paraglider, the landing system that should have made splashdowns obsolete starting in the early 1960s but (to make a long story short) just couldn’t keep pace … Continue reading
Posted in Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury
Tagged Gemini, Landing Systems, Landings, Paraglider, Rogallo
4 Comments
Is Wernher von Braun Spaceflight’s Most Controversial Figure?
That he was responsible for both the deadly Nazi V-2 and NASA’s majestic Saturn V makes Wernher von Braun a controversial historical figure. Some hold that his participation in the Nazi war effort necessitates classifying him as a villain. But … Continue reading
Posted in Apollo, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Moon, Rockets
5 Comments
Mars One: A Possible Disaster
Three months ago I wrote this article about Mars One, the Netherlands-based non-profit organization that hopes to fund a one-way mission to build the first colony on Mars by broadcasting it as a reality show. The astronaut selection criteria had just been … Continue reading
Posted in Manned Spaceflight, Planetary Science
3 Comments
McDivitt’s Trials With Orbital Rendezvous
Orbital mechanics and the challenges of orbital rendezvous isn’t a simple thing to explain, particularly as a non-scientist breaking it down for other non-scientists. But it’s a central part of the Apollo mission profile, so it comes up a lot … Continue reading
Posted in Apollo, Gemini, Manned Spaceflight
Tagged Ed White, Gemini, Gemini 4, Jim McDivitt, NASA, Rendezvous
8 Comments