Challenge to Apollo

Challenge to Apollo
Author: Asif A. Siddiqi
Publisher: www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
Total Pages: 1030
Release: 2011-03-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781780393018

Taking advantage of the Soviet archives, which were opened in the 1990s, Siddiqi has written a groundbreaking work that examines why the Soviet Union fell behind in the space race of the 1960s after changing the course of human history with the first artificial satellite launch, Sputnik, in 1957.

Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge

Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge
Author: Asif A. Siddiqi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780813026275

Based on new Russian sources, Siddiqi's book reveals the truth about the Soviet space program to tell a technical, political, and personal history of the major Soviet initiatives. Photos & illustrations.

The Soviet Space Race with Apollo

The Soviet Space Race with Apollo
Author: Asif A. Siddiqi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780813026282

Winner of the Emme Award for Astronautical Literature, 2001 "The essential reference work for Soviet/Russian space history . . . for anyone hoping to make sense of the too many 'truths' of Soviet Space history."--Journal of Military History "We finally have a definitive English-language history covering the first three decades of the Soviet Union's space program. Sixteen years in the making, Asif Siddiqi's amazingly detailed book provides a kaleidoscopic view of the technical and political evolution of Soviet missile and space projects. . . . a veritable gold-mind of factual information."--Air Power History "An extraordinary volume. . . . This is not simply an account of one side of the space race. It is nothing less than the first full-scale, detailed explanation of how and why the Soviet Union led the world into space. It belongs on the shelf of every historian with an interest in flight, technology and politics, the Cold War, or any one of a score of related topics."--The Public Historian "No space buff's library will be complete without this book. Readers will marvel at the complex interactions between design bureaus, and will enjoy getting to know the people behind the failed Soviet effort--a vital step toward putting Apollo's victory in context."--Smithsonian Air and Space "Absolutely mandatory on the bookshelf of anyone interested in space."--Encyclopedia Astronautica First published by NASA in 2000 as Challenge to Apollo, these two volumes are the first comprehensive history of the Soviet-manned space programs covering a period of thirty years, from the end of World War II, when the Soviets captured German rocket technology, to the collapse of their moon program in the mid-1970s. The spectacular Soviet successes of Sputnik--the first Earth satellite (1957) and Yuri Gagarin--the first man in space (1961) shocked U.S. leaders and prompted President John F. Kennedy to set the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s. The moon race culminated with the historic landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969 (coincidentally the first Soviet unmanned moon probe crashed on its surface while the American astronauts were at Tranquility Base). The epic story of the Soviet space program remained shrouded in secrecy until the unprecedented opening of top secret documents. Based almost entirely on these Russian-language sources and numerous interviews with veterans, Siddiqi's book breaks through the rumors, hearsay, and speculation that characterized books on the Soviet space program published during the Cold War years. Supplementing the text with dozens of previously classified photographs, he weaves together the technical, political, and personal history of the major Soviet space programs, providing the other side of the history of human space flight. Asif A. Siddiqi is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Space Race

The Space Race
Author: Deborah Cadbury
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2005
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780007212996

From the author of 'The Seven Wonders of the Industrial World' comes the shocking but true story behind the space race -- and the ruthless, brilliant scientists who fuelled it.

Reaching for the Moon

Reaching for the Moon
Author: Roger D Launius
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-06-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0300245165

Fifty years after the Moon landing, a new history of the space race explores the lives of both Soviet and American engineers At the dawn of the space age, technological breakthroughs in Earth orbit flight were both breathtaking feats of ingenuity and disturbances to a delicate global balance of power. In this short book, aerospace historian Roger D. Launius concisely and engagingly explores the driving force of this era: the race to the Moon. Beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 and closing with the end of the Apollo program in 1972, Launius examines how early space exploration blurred the lines between military and civilian activities, and how key actions led to space firsts as well as crushing failures. Launius places American and Soviet programs on equal footing—following American aerospace engineers Wernher von Braun and Robert Gilruth, their Soviet counterparts Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov—to highlight key actions that led to various successes, failures, and ultimately the American Moon landing.

The Space Race

The Space Race
Author: Matthew Brenden Wood
Publisher: Nomad Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 161930662X

On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong landed gently on the lunar surface and became the first person to set foot on another world. People around the world stopped what they were doing to crowd around television sets and radios to witness one of the greatest achievements in human history—a man walking on the moon. How did we get there? Why haven’t we gone back? In The Space Race: How the Cold War Put Humans on the Moon, kids ages 12 to 15 explore the race to the moon against the chilling backdrop of the Cold War. The Space Race was the period during and after the Cold War when America and the Soviet Union participated in a fierce competition to see which country could beat the other into space. It was a time of bitterness, fear, and secrecy, but it was also a moment in history when two countries directed resources toward pushing themselves to reach goals that were once thought unattainable. Would we have succeeded as far as we did without the competition to be first? While Neil Armstrong will be remembered as the first person to set foot on the moon, the people and events behind this accomplishment populate a fascinating tale of politics, science, technology, and teamwork that resulted in what might be the greatest accomplishment of the twentieth century. In The Space Race, middle school students explore this history of science and discover the political, social, and economic factors that led to incredible achievements in space, including the launch of Sputnik, the launch of Explorer I, and eventually, the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon, where Neil Armstrong took those famous first steps. Middle school students will meet some of the tens of thousands of engineers and scientists that worked for years to create the technology needed to send humans to the moon and return them safely to Earth. By showing space events against the backdrop of the turmoil back on Earth, readers understand that scientific achievement doesn't happen in a vacuum, even when it happens in space! A wealth of links to primary sources makes this an interactive learning experience while science-minded STEAM activities link the historical and scientific material. Throughout the fun facts, cool photos, and investigative projects, kids are encouraged to explore creative and critical thinking and problem-solving strategies. The Space Race is one book in a set of four that explore great events of the twentieth century. Other titles in this set include Globalization: Why We Care About Faraway Events; The Vietnam War; and World War II: From the Rise of the Nazi Party to the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb.

Two Sides of the Moon

Two Sides of the Moon
Author: David Scott
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 530
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 146685927X

Growing up on either side of the Iron Curtain, David Scott and Alexei Leonov experienced very different childhoods but shared the same dream to fly. Excelling in every area of mental and physical agility, Scott and Leonov became elite fighter pilots and were chosen by their countries' burgeoning space programs to take part in the greatest technological race ever-to land a man on the moon. In this unique dual autobiography, astronaut Scott and cosmonaut Leonov recount their exceptional lives and careers spent on the cutting edge of science and space exploration. With each mission fraught with perilous risks, and each space program touched by tragedy, these parallel tales of adventure and heroism read like a modern-day thriller. Cutting fast between their differing recollections, this book reveals, in a very personal way, the drama of one of the most ambitious contests ever embarked on by man, set against the conflict that once held the world in suspense: the clash between Russian communism and Western democracy. Before training to be the USSR's first man on the moon, Leonov became the first man to walk in space. It was a feat that won him a place in history but almost cost him his life. A year later, in 1966, Gemini 8, with David Scott and Neil Armstrong aboard, tumbled out of control across space. Surviving against dramatic odds-a split-second decision by pilot Armstrong saved their lives-they both went on to fly their own lunar missions: Armstrong to command Apollo 11 and become the first man to walk on the moon, and Scott to perform an EVA during the Apollo 9 mission and command the most complex expedition in the history of exploration, Apollo 15. Spending three days on the moon, Scott became the seventh man to walk on its breathtaking surface. Marking a new age of USA/USSR cooperation, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project brought Scott and Leonov together, finally ending the Cold War silence and building a friendship that would last for decades. Their courage, passion for exploration, and determination to push themselves to the limit emerge in these memoirs not only through their triumphs but also through their perseverance in times of extraordinary difficulty and danger.

Epic Rivalry

Epic Rivalry
Author: Von Hardesty
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2007-09-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1426202091

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon in 1969, they personified an almost unimaginable feat—the incredibly complex task of sending humans safely to another celestial body. This extraordinary odyssey, which grew from the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was galvanized by the Sputnik launch in 1957. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Sputnik, National Geographic recaptures this gripping moment in the human experience with a lively and compelling new account. Written by Smithsonian curator Von Hardesty and researcher Gene Eisman, Epic Rivalry tells the story from both the American and the Russian points of view, and shows how each space-faring nation played a vital role in stimulating the work of the other. Scores of rare, unpublished, and powerful photographs recall the urgency and technical creativity of both nations' efforts. The authors recreate in vivid detail the "parallel universes" of the two space exploration programs, with visionaries Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev and political leaders John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev at the epicenters. The conflict between countries, and the tense drama of their independent progress, unfolds in vivid prose. Approaching its subject from a uniquely balanced perspective, this important new narrative chronicles the epic race to the moon and back as it has never been told before—and captures the interest of casual browsers and science, space, and history enthusiasts alike.

Spaceflight

Spaceflight
Author: Michael J. Neufeld
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2018-10-16
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0262536331

A concise history of spaceflight, from military rocketry through Sputnik, Apollo, robots in space, space culture, and human spaceflight today. Spaceflight is one of the greatest human achievements of the twentieth century. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957; less than twelve years later, the American Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon. In this volume of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Michael Neufeld offers a concise history of spaceflight, mapping the full spectrum of activities that humans have developed in space. Neufeld explains that “the space program” should not be equated only with human spaceflight. Since the 1960s, unmanned military and commercial spacecraft have been orbiting near the Earth, and robotic deep-space explorers have sent back stunning images of faraway planets. Neufeld begins with the origins of space ideas and the discovery that rocketry could be used for spaceflight. He then discusses the Soviet-U.S. Cold War space race and reminds us that NASA resisted adding female astronauts even after the Soviets sent the first female cosmonaut into orbit. He analyzes the two rationales for the Apollo program: prestige and scientific discovery (this last something of an afterthought). He describes the internationalization and privatization of human spaceflight after the Cold War, the cultural influence of space science fiction, including Star Trek and Star Wars, space tourism for the ultra-rich, and the popular desire to go into space. Whether we become a multiplanet species, as some predict, or continue to call Earth home, this book offers a useful primer.

The Apollo Murders

The Apollo Murders
Author: Chris Hadfield
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2024-10-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0735282382

#1 INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE TIMES (LONDON) THRILLER OF THE YEAR PICK AN INDIGO BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR NOMINATED for The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and the Sideways Award for Alternate History "Exciting." —Andy Weir, author of The Martian "Nail-biting." —James Cameron, writer and director of Avatar and Titanic "Not to be missed." —Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal An exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race, by astronaut and bestselling author Chris Hadfield. 1973. A final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million miles from help. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to the breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be. Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment. Experience the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.