Author Description

This fascinating and informative series of Soviet space program history reports continues with a reproduction of a truly historic document: Soviet Space Programs, 1971-1975. The history of the Russian spaceflight effort is chronicled in these superb Congressional Research Service reports to Congress. The early reports were authored by a renowned Soviet space expert, the late Dr. Charles S. Sheldon. They provide an "as-it-happened" contemporaneous account of every element of the Soviet program: manned and unmanned programs, military satellite, launch sites, compendiums of official statements, plans, international participation and cosmonauts, and much more. Every student of space flight needs to have these important reports in their collection.Overview, supporting facilities and launch vehicles of the Soviet space * Program details of unmanned flights * Program details of man-related flights * The Soviet space life sciences * Soviet application of space to the economy * Soviet military space activities * Projections of Soviet space plans * CHAPTER ONE * OVERVIEW, SUPPORTING FACILITIES AND LAUNCH VEHICLES OF THE SOVIET SPACE PROGRAM * Overall trends in flights * Launch sites in the Soviet Union * Soviet launch vehicles * Tracking and other ground support * Early years * The Kosmos program * Other recent scientific flights * The second generation of planetary flights * The third generation of lunar flights * Statistical tables on deep space missions * CHAPTER THREE * PROGRAM DETAILS OF MAN-RELATED FLIGHTS * The Soyuz program * The Zond program of precursors to manned circumlunar flight * The Soviet manned lunar landing program * The Soviet cosmonauts * Statistical tables on manned space flight * CHAPTER THREE * ANNEX--THE APOLLO-SOYUZ TEST PROJECT (ASTP) * Furnace system experiments * Historical background * Joint preparations * Political issues * Summary * CHAPTER FOUR * THE SOVIET SPACE LIFE SCIENCES * Cosmonaut selection and training * Space medicine * Life support