The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program: 50 Years After Sputnik, New Frontiers (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

The rebirth of the Russian space program marks an important event: 50 years since the first Sputnik was launched on 4th October 1957. At that time, few could have imagined the dramatic events that lay head. The Soviet Union achieved all the great firsts in cosmonautics—the first satellite in orbit, the first animal in orbit, the first laboratory in orbit, the first probe to the Moon, the first probe to photograph its far side, the first soft landing on the moon, the first man in space, the first woman in space, the first spacewalk. Except one, the first human landing on the Moon. In 1964, the Soviet Union decided to contest the decision of the United States to put the first person on the Moon. The Soviet Union engaged in that race far too late, with divided organization, and made a gallant but doomed challenge to Apollo. Undaunted, the Soviet Union rebuilt its space program around orbiting stations, building the first one, Salyut, and then the first permanent home in space, Mir. The Soviet Union still achieved many more firsts: the first lunar rover, the first soft landing on Venus, the first soft landing on Mars, the first recovery of samples from the Moon by automatic spacecraft.

During the 1990s, the Russian space program went through a number of traumatic adjustments and, indeed, almost came to an end. Both its budget and staff numbers were massively reduced, and numerous operations and initiatives were cancelled. Yet against all the odds, Russian space engineers clawed their way back from the edge of collapse. They turned a national program into the most commercial in the world, flying everything from small satellites to large communications satellites and even the first space tourists.

The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program covers the years 2000 to 2006. The book provides: a balanced account of all the past, present and future key elements of the Russian space program; details of manned and unmanned military programs; launchers, engines, facilities, infrastructure, policy and personalities; statistical material on Russian space developments. This is a remarkable story of recovery, resurgence and fresh promise. Fifty years after Sputnik, the dream lives on.

This, fifty years after Sputnik, is the definitive book on the Russian space program. The author covers all the key elements of the current Russian space program, including both manned and unmanned missions. He examines the various types of unmanned applications programs as well as the crucial military program, and even analyzes the infrastructure of production, launch centres and tracking. You’ll also find discussion of the commercialization of the program and its relationship with western companies. Russia’s current space experiment is also put in a comparative global context. Strong emphasis is placed on Russia’s future space intentions and on new programs and missions in prospect. Front Matter....Pages i-xxv Almost the end....Pages 1-16 Building the International Space Station....Pages 17-76 Scientific and applications programs....Pages 77-103 Military programs....Pages 105-138 Launchers and engines....Pages 139-206 Launch sites....Pages 207-264 The design bureaus....Pages 265-313 Resurgent—the new projects....Pages 315-335 Back Matter....Pages 337-355