Soviets in Space

Russia’s Cosmonauts and the Space Frontier

Colin Burgess, Burgess, Colin

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781789146325
• eBook ISBN: 9781789146318
• Subtopic: Russian History

In this deeply researched chronology, Colin Burgess describes the Soviet Union's extraordinary success in the pioneering years of space exploration. Within a decade the Soviets not only launched the world's first satellite, but were the first to send an animal and a human being into Earth orbit. More than that, their ground-breaking missions sent a woman into space, launched a three-man spacecraft and included the first person to walk in space.
Six decades on from the historic spaceflight of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Burgess guides us through the amazing achievements of Russia's spaceflight programme through to the present day, introducing the men and women who have flown the missions as we seek to delve ever deeper into the wonders and complexities of the cosmos.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• PROLOGUE
• 1 PUPNIKS AND SPUTNIKS
• 2 ‘POYEKHALI!’
• 3 VOSTOK FLIGHTS CONTINUE
• 4 SOVIET SPECTACULARS AND A SPACEWALK
• 5 THE TROUBLE WITH SOYUZ
• 6 LOSING THE MOON
• 7 A TRAGIC SETBACK
• 8 DÉTENTE IN ORBIT
• 9 SPACE STATION MIR
• 10 THE SOYUZ LEGACY
• REFERENCES
• FURTHER READING
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INDEX