Happy April, and welcome back to the second part of the "A History of Rockets". Remember to read part one if you haven't yet.
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The Beginning of the Space Race
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| Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite |
Last time, we left off at the infamous ICBM, the feared Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, which could deliver nuclear warheads across the globe. But in the late 50's, as the ICBM research continued, and both the USA and the Soviet Union started exploring the regime of space and hypersonic airflow, the USSR surprises the globe and became the first nation to launch an artificial satellite in orbit around Earth. Sputnik, a ball with some antennas, was to become the starting pistol for what would precede a millennia's worth of technological advancements in just a few short decades - from converted ICBM's to spaceplanes, this would become what was to be known as the Space Race.
Firsts
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| Gagarin cracking a wide smile |
With the Space Race now in full swing, both sides, the US and the USSR raced to be first, first human, first spacewalk, first landing, first animal, first anything. They wanted to be the first. The USSR, having caught the US with their pants down with Sputnik, gained an early lead, launching Sputnik 2 shortly thereafter. The USSR, and later the USA began firing many spacecrafts at the moon, hoping to impact the moon and flyby, and to return photos and data. The US was the first to flyby the moon, with the soviets managing to impact and flyby the moon in October and September of 1959. In Sputnik 2, Laika, a dog became the first living thing in orbit, but died on the fourth orbit due to stress and overheating. Later, on Sputnik 5, 2 dogs were sent into orbit and safely returned. Because the US was behind, the USSR managed to be first in sending the first humans in space, launching Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961, which happens to be its 60th anniversary in 9 days! And thus we enter the chapter of manned spaceflight.
Manned Spaceflight
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Alan Shepard, the first American
to go to space |
With Gagarin becoming the first man in orbit and in space, the pressure was on. Just a month later, the USA launched Alan Shepard on top of a Mercury-Redstone rocket, which was the converted Redstone SRBM into a manned version as part of the Mercury Program, thus the Mercury-Redstone rocket. Alan Shepard became the first American in space. About a year later (Feb 1962), John Glenn became the first American to go into orbit. In June of that year, the USSR also launched Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman and civilian into space. In September of that year, John F. Kennedy made the famous speech at Rice University.
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
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| Alexi Leonov, on the first spacewalk |
It was these words that kicked off the multi faceted and earnest effort into the development of technologies needed for the demanding Apollo Program. First, the Gemini Program, which was designed to practice orbital maneuvers and spacewalks, was all too important for the Apollo program, which would need to dock twice in its mission. But the Soviets again stole some of the glory, by launching the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and with Alexi Leonov performing the first spacewalk, or EVA (They also operated in t-shirts, because, well, there wasn't enough space). But, at long last, the Gemini Program started in 1965, when Gemini 3 was the first to change its crafts orbit while in orbit. Gemini 4 became the first US spacewalk by Ed White. Gemini 6 and 7 were the first to rendezvous in orbit, coming as close as 0.3 meters. Gemini 8, piloted by an as-of-yet-unknown Neil Armstrong , was the first to dock while in orbit, a significant milestone.
The Race to the Moon
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| The wreckage of Soyuz 1 |
Both the Americans and Soviets raced to the moon, building the Saturn V and N-1 Rockets respectively. With the American program gearing up for Apollo 1, and the Soviets with their circumlunar program, Zond and their lunar lander, the LK. However, disaster struck both sides as they raced towards the moon. Apollo 1 caught fire, killing all 3 crewmen a month before their launch. Soyuz 1 ended in failure when the reserve parachute tangled with the drogue chute, killing pilot Vladimir Komarov on impact.
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| Armstrong, striking a pose |
With the Soviet Zond program unable to achieve its goal, with 6 unsuccessful launches, and the American Apollo program launching the first humans to the moon, the Americans firmly take the lead, launching Apollo 8, the first humans to see the far side and also the first humans to leave earth orbit. And on, July 20th, 1969, the Apollo 11 "Eagle" Lunar Module landed on the moon, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first astronauts to step foot on the moon, ending the race to the moon
Space Stations, the New Cool Thing
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| The last picture of Skylab |
As the USSR had lost the race to the moon, they started to focus their efforts on long term space exploration and development. To do this they launched Salyut 1, a space station. Soyuz 11 became the first to dock with Salyut and also their crew became the first, and only, to die in space (above 100 km). Their craft had a leak during undocking, resulting in asphyxiation. In the end, the USSR launched 5 Salyut Space Stations. Salyut 1 reentered prematurely, and it's successor, DOS-2, exploded during launch. Salyut 2 through 5 launched, all except Salyut 4 being military reconnaissance stations for the Almaz program.
But the US was not be left behind, launching Skylab on the last Saturn V to take flight. Skylab wasn't that significant, but it was an important stepping stone to Space Station Freedom, which eventually became the International Space Station.
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