The US-Russia Space Race: An exercise in Cold War brinkmanship (More Key Events)

The US-Russia Space Race: An exercise in Cold War brinkmanship

October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launches the world’s first satellite, Sputnik 1, stunning the United States November 3, 1957: The Soviet Union puts the first animal in space, a dog called Laika who orbits the Earth but dies in the process.

January 1, 1958: America successfully launches its first Earth satellite.

October 1, 1958: America sets up the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA.

September 12, 1959: The Soviet Union launches the first spacecraft, Luna 2, to reach the surface of the Moon.

August 19, 1960: The Soviet Union launches a spacecraft carrying two dogs, Belka and Strelka. The two dogs survive the mission and return to Earth, paving the way for the first manned space flight.

April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to journey into outer space orbiting the Earth once in a flight that lasted 108 minutes.

May 5, 1961: America’s Alan Shepard completes a suborbital journey into space.

February 20, 1962: America’s John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.

June 16, 1963: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to travel into space.

January 27, 1967: America’s Apollo 1 Moon mission ends in tragedy as it catches fire during a launch test killing three crew members.

July 16, 1969: America’s historic Apollo 11 mission lands on the Moon.

July 20, 1969: America’s Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on the Moon.

November 17, 1970: The Soviet Union lands a remote-controlled robot on the Moon in another world first. America does the same the following year.

April 19,1971: The Soviet Union launches the first space station, Salyut 1.

April 12, 1981: America launches its first Space Shuttle in orbit.

1986: The Soviet Union launches what will become the first permanently-manned space station. Mir. It is permanently manned from 1989-1999 but decommissioned in 2001 by Russia which is struggling to fund what is left of the Soviet space programme.

 

Key events in the history of space exploration

Key events in the history of space exploration

4 October 1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, igniting the space race. Sputnik’s radio signals continue for 22 days until the transmitter batteries run out. It burns up on 4 January 1958 as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere

3 November 1957: The dog Laika, the first living creature ever to orbit the earth, is launched aboard Sputnik II. Laika dies a few hours after launch, although this is kept secret until 2002. Instead, the Soviets claim she lived for several days

Read on for 30 more key events.

(Via The Telegraph)

“Cinderella of the Stars” Valentina Tereshkova – First woman in Space

“Cinderella of the Stars” Valentina Tereshkova – First woman in Space

In June 1963, the whole world heard about the Russian “Chaika” (Seagull), Valentina Tereshkova’s call sign.

The first woman in space, ”Cinderella of the Stars” was born into a peasant family and worked at a textile factory after finishing evening school.

While working and earning an education at a technical school by correspondence, Valentina dreamed of the heavens. She learned how to skydive at a local aero-club, completing 163 jumps.

“There were only five women in our group, but the workload was more than the men’s,” Tereshkova explains, saying the training was extremely rough at that time. “But each of us was obsessed with the crazy idea of completing the training with brilliant results and of making a spaceflight.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2000, Valentina Tereshkova was named “Greatest Woman Achiever of the Century” by the British Women of the Year Association.

(Via Ria Novosti)

Flying into history in 108 minutes

Flying into history in 108 minutes

Fifty years ago on April 12, with a stirring cry of “Let’s Go!” (Poekhali), cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin raced on a Soviet rocket to become the first human to go into outer space. Launching in the Vostok spacecraft from Kazakhstan at 9.06 a.m. that radiant sunny day in 1961, the 27-year-old son of a carpenter circled the Earth once on a 108-minute space flight before parachuting safely to the ground in the Saratovregion of the U.S.S.R.

This short but epic foray into outer space inspired millions of people around the globe, and ignited a Cold War race between the superpowers for technological superiority.

Space exploration has, however, become increasingly cooperative since the end of the Cold War, especially with the ongoing assembly of the 18-country International Space Station (ISS). Amid the unfolding competition, one thing has not changed: on April 12, Russians everywhere honour the space odyssey legacy embodied by Gagarin. “Space will always remain a priority of ours. Russia is a world leader in the commercial satellite launch market, which helps to propel its space industry.

(Via Russia and India Today)

Rocket genius behind Russia’s triumph

Rocket genius behind Russia’s triumph

Fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Sergei Korolev built the rocket that took him. In doing so, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to journey into space.

A gifted engineer and designer, Korolev developed the first intercontinental missile and then launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik 1.

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in Klushino, in the Smolensk region, 160km west of Moscow.  Twenty pilots were selected, but the early version of the Vostok capsule was so cramped, only those under 168cm could get in it. The slightly built Gagarin fitted in nicely.

Then it was announced Gagarin had landed safely. On January 14, 1966, Korolev died, aged 59, during routine surgery.

Yuri Gagarin’s famous flight came perilously close to disaster.

News of Gagarin’s flight swept round the globe. “Man in space!” the London Evening News announced. Next morning’s US headlines included the classic: “Soviets put man in space.  Spokesman says US asleep.”

(Via NZ Herald)