Tag Archives: Soviet Space Program

When Soviets Roved the Moon

Posted on September 15, 2012 by asteitel

Between Curiosity stretching its wheels and heads for its first big target site, Glenelg, and Opportunity finding new “blueberries,” concretions left by ancient mineral-laden water flowing through rocks, rovers are pretty hot right now. But Mars isn’t the first body … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Moon, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kennedy’s Public and Private Thoughts on Apollo

Posted on September 12, 2012 by asteitel

On September 12, 1962, President Kennedy gave his famous speech at Rice University in Texas proclaiming that Americans take on lofty goals like landing a man on the Moon not because it is easy but because it is hard. It’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Moon, Rockets, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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

First Woman

Posted on June 17, 2012 by asteitel

China’s Shenzhou 9 spacecraft successfully reached orbit yesterday, and tomorrow it will dock with the Tiangong 1 prototype space station the nation launched last September. But it’s the crew that’s commanding the most attention on this mission, namely pilot Liu … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Soviet, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Plan X; or, Planning White’s Small Step

Posted on May 20, 2012 by asteitel

In 1964, the launch schedule for the Gemini program was set and it was tight. Missions with new objectives would launch every eight to ten weeks taking NASA a step closer to the Moon each time. But hardware setbacks and … Continue reading →

Posted in Gemini, Manned Spaceflight, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

NASA’s LRO: Shedding New Light on Old Mysteries

Posted on March 28, 2012 by asteitel

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter keeps finding interesting things on the moon. Last week, LRO’s camera photographed the landing sites of Luna 23 and 24, two Soviet probes that landed in the 1970s. The images have enabled scientists to solve mysteries about … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Soviet, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Soyuz 1: Falling to Earth

Posted on January 13, 2012 by asteitel

The Russian Soyuz program is the longest-running spaceflight program — variations of the spacecraft have flown consistently since 1966. It isn’t perfect; big technologies like spacecraft rarely are. There have been problems on recent missions where spacecraft have made hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Manned Spaceflight, Soviet | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments