Mar 13

Space Rocket History #293 – Space 1970 – Soyuz 9 – Part 1

Posted on March 13, 2019 by spac9750

The original Soyuz 9 mission was planned to fly two Soyuz spacecraft in the August to September 1970 time frame for a rendezvous and docking; however, at the end of December 1969 the communist party bosses ordered that the mission be changed to a single spacecraft on a 20 day long duration flight to be launched in April 1970 to coincide with Lenin’s birthday.

Andriyan Nikolayev Credit Spacefacts.de
Vitali Sevastiyanov Credit Spacefacts.de
The wedding ceremony of cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova & Andriyan Nikolayev

Mar 06

Space Rocket History #292 – Space 1970 – Venera 7

Posted on March 6, 2019 by spac9750

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The VENERA 7 lander was the hardiest of the Soviet Venus probes yet built. Its creators wanted the vessel to land on the planet’s surface in working order.

Venera 7 in the testing and assembly area
Reproduction of Venera 7 lander
Molniya-M (R7 8K78M)

Feb 27

Space Rocket History #291 – Space 1970 – Luna 16 & 17

Posted on February 27, 2019 by spac9750

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Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth after five unsuccessful similar attempts.

Luna 16 mockup in the Moscow Space museum
Luna 17 with Lunokhod 1
Lunar Recon. Orbiter pic of Luna 17 site

Feb 20

Space Rocket History #290 – Apollo 13 – Welcome Home

Posted on February 20, 2019 by spac9750

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“Three brave astronauts are alive and on Earth because of the mission operations teams’ dedication, and because at the critical moments the people of that team were wise enough and self-possessed enough to make the right decisions. Their extraordinary feat is a tribute to man’s ingenuity, to his resourcefulness and to his courage.” President Richard Nixon