Product Description

CD-ROM and Book. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of manned spaced flight. For the first time ever available in the West a complete pictorial history of the Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full colour. On 12 April 1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human into space. To celebrate this momentous event Apogee Books, in conjunction with Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, is proud to present, as part of our critically acclaimed series on space flight, the first book about the Russian Space Programme.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #829272 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
Review in Astro, the Swedish Amateur Astronomical Society Journal, June 2002.

About the Author
Robert Godwin, Editor

Customer Reviews

An interesting insight into the other side of the space race
This volume is interesting for Godwin in that it seems to be an English reprint of a Russian book. However, it is nonetheless fascinating.

The book illustrates the history of Soviet rocketry (with appropriate homage to Korolev, known only to the Russian people as the "Chief Designer") from its very early stages of reworking the V2 design, through the familiar R7`s ballistic missile heritage, and then on through Sputnik, Vostock, Voskhod, Soyuz, Salyut, Mir, etc. This is done through captioned photos, marking it apart from the other text-rich Godwin offerings. There are intersting sections on the lost project to mirror the Shuttle, Buran, and upon the more recent heavy-lift rockets for satellite and space station component launch , of which I (for one) had little knowledge.

The book shows graphically the subterfuge that the Russians were able to work by consistantly relying on the evolution of an existing design to give the impression of spectacular progress. Call a one-man Vostock capsule Voskhod and stick three cosmonauts in it and the world thinks you`re way ahead!

As a 60`s kid, the most gripping part of the book for me was the section focusing on the development of the massive multi-stage N-1, built to challenge Apollo to the moon. We have only seen such pictures recently. It is really amazing that a rocket over 105 metres long was assembled and transported on its side and then erected for launch, all in one piece!

As a counterpart source of info the book is a fine resource, if a little thinner than Godwin`s others. Perhaps the best reaction has been from friends with interest in space who have never seen anything about the Russians hardware and who have been eager to see the differences between it and the familiar kit that the Americans relied upon.