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, converted for accurate flowing-text ebook format reproduction. 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. Small Kosmos (B-1) * Kapustin Yar scientific flights * Plesetsk military flights * Intermediate Kosmos (C-1) * Previous subsets for navigation and ferreting * New repetitive subsets * Multiple payloads * Scientific flights * Target flights * Military observation recoverable payloads (A-2) * More third generation flights * Observation programs since 1962 * D. Lunokhod 1 * Brief description of roving vehicle * Review of operational life * Scientific findings * Relative merits of manned versus unmanned roving lunar vehicles * The 1971 Mars attempts * Launch failures * Launch of Mars 2 and 3 and of Mariner 9 * Inflight progress * Mars 2 arrival * Mars 3 arrival * The landers * The orbital buses and their activity * Luna 18,19, and 20 * Luna 18 * Luna 1 * Luna 2 * Program details-manned * Precursors * Salyut and Soyuz 10 * Launch of Salyut * Launch of Soyuz 10 * New equipment in docking * Separation and recovery * Ground reception of crew * Possible flight difficulties * Soyuz 11 and Salyut * Launch of Soyuz 11 * Details on Salyut * Mission of Salyut * Summary of mission activity * Degree of success and possible problems * Separation and recovery * Deaths of the cosmonauts *