The N1 Failed — Again
The Soviet N1 moon rocket has now failed four times. The program is apparently being cancelled, though Moscow hasn't said so officially.
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Mission Log: Space Race
Soyuz 11 — A Tragedy in Three Lines
The Soyuz 11 crew — Dobrovsky, Volkov, Patsayev — spent 23 days on Salyut 1 and set a new space endurance record. They died during re-entry when a pressure valve opened prematurely.
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Salyut — The Soviets Build a Space Station
The Soviet Union launched the world's first space station on April 19. Salyut 1 is in orbit, waiting for a crew.
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The Cost of Apollo
The Apollo program has cost roughly $25 billion so far. I've been reading about the political sustainability of this, and I'm not sure the program is as secure as I'd like.
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Zond 5 Returns
Zond 5 splashed down in the Indian Ocean yesterday, returning from a flyby of the Moon. The turtles aboard survived. The competition just got very real.
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Zond 5 and What It Means
I wrote briefly about Zond 5 before it launched. Now it's back, and I want to think more carefully about what it means for the race.
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The Soviets and the Zond
Zond 5 launched last week on what looks very much like a crewed lunar mission rehearsal. Are the Soviets about to put cosmonauts around the Moon before we get there?
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The Soviet Unmanned Lunar Program
The Soviets have been running an active unmanned lunar program alongside ours. Luna 9 soft-landed in February 1966. Luna 10 orbited in April 1966. Let me take stock.
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Vladimir Komarov and the Soyuz 1 Crash
The Soviets lost a cosmonaut too. Vladimir Komarov died yesterday when Soyuz 1 crashed on landing, its parachute tangled.
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The Soviet Moon Program — What We Think We Know
What is the Soviet lunar program actually doing? The question is frustrating because so little is known publicly. Here's my best understanding.
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