Tag Archives: Leonov

Are China and the USSR Equivalent Opponents to the US in Space?

Posted on July 7, 2012 by asteitel

Last week, China’s Shenzhou 9 landed after a successful mission that included the nation’s first docking with its Tiangong 1 prototype space station. The rapid development of its space program suggests that China is poised to become a powerful new … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Real Apollo 18

Posted on September 4, 2011 by asteitel

Conspiracy theorists have concocted some incredibly creative stories to explain why NASA has not returned to the moon since Apollo 17’s splashdown in 1972. Some suggest that aliens on the moon prevented or scared astronauts from ever returning while others … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Designing the Perfect Cosmonaut

Posted on February 2, 2011 by asteitel

In a previous post, I talked about how NASA designed the perfect astronaut – the qualities that were considered vital in selecting the first generation Mercury astronauts. The Soviet Space Program was no different. The organization held its candidates to … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Landings, NASA, and the Soviet Space Program

Posted on November 30, 2010 by asteitel

I recently wrote a blog post about NASA’s choice of using exclusively splashdowns landings during the space race and a (relatively brief) discussion of why this method was far less desirable than a land landing alternative. In retrospect, I realized … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments