Space Race
June 30, 1971
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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Space Race
September 21, 1968
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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Space Race
September 14, 1968
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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Space Race
August 15, 1968
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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Space Race
May 20, 1967
The Soviets lost a cosmonaut too. Vladimir Komarov died yesterday when Soyuz 1 crashed on landing, its parachute tangled.
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Space Race
February 18, 1965
Alexei Leonov exited the Voskhod 2 spacecraft today and spent twelve minutes floating in space — the first human EVA. He almost didn't make it back in.
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Space Race
October 12, 1963
The Soviets launched three people into space today in a capsule designed for one, with no spacesuits. That's either a brilliant demonstration or a reckless stunt.
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Space Race
June 16, 1963
The Soviets did it again — put someone in space before we could. This time it was a woman: Valentina Tereshkova.
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Space Race
August 12, 1962
The Soviets launched two Vostok spacecraft in two days and flew them in near-formation. They were never close enough to rendezvous, but the propaganda value was enormous.
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Space Race
April 12, 1961
They beat us. A Soviet man orbited the Earth today and I don't know how to feel about it except wrong-footed and shaken and strangely moved.
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