Mar 27

Space Rocket History #56 – First Space Walk – Voskhod 2 with Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev – Part 2

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Leonov opened the airlocks outer hatch He was positioned on his “back” and this orientation revealed the beauty of earth in its entirety.  His heart began to race as he pushed his upper body outside and saw the deep blue vista of the Mediterranean Sea, fringed by the easily recognizable shapes of Greece and Italy and, farther east, the Crimea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Volga River…

EVA

EVA

EVA

EVA

GPN-2002-000176

EVA

Celebration

Celebration

Descent Module

Descent Module

Stamp

Stamp

Mar 20

Space Rocket History #55 – First Space Walk – Voskhod 2 with Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev – Part 1

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Voskhod 2 was a high risk mission.  It was the final space race victory for the Soviet Union before NASA claimed the lead and ultimately won with the lunar landing of 1969. Voskhod 2 was the peak of the Soviet Space Program.  It nearly killed its two cosmonauts but it was ultimately a success…

Voskhod_spacecraft_diagram

Voskhod with Airlock

Airlock and Spacesuit

Airlock and Spacesuit

Alexei Leonov

Alexei Leonov

Pavel Belyayev

Pavel Belyayev

Spacesuit

Spacesuit

Mission Patch

Mission Patch

Mar 13

Space Rocket History #54 – Gemini 2 – Part 2

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Gemini Launch Vehicle Two’s misfortunes during August and September 1964 forced NASA to forego its goal of a manned Gemini 3 flight before the end of the year, Gemini-Titan 2 was now scheduled for mid-November 1964, and Gemini 3 for the end of January 1965…

View from Gemini 2

View from Gemini 2

Gemini 2

Gemini 2

Gemini 2 Heat Shield

Gemini 2 Heat Shield

Mar 06

Space Rocket History #53 – Gemini 2 – Part 1

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The bright outlook that was prevalent in April turned dark in the late summer of 1964 when a series of natural disasters struck the Cape. First lightning, then hurricanes, damaged the Gemini 2 launch vehicle to delay its flight long past the scheduled time.  Even if the weather had been perfect, McDonnell’s difficulties in getting Spacecraft 2 ready to fly might have compromised the schedule on its own…

Mercury vs. Gemini

Mercury vs. Gemini

Retrograde Adapter

Retrograde Adapter

Ejection

Ejection

First Stage of GLV-2

First Stage of GLV-2

Instrumentation Pallets in Astronaut Seats

Instrumentation instead of Astronauts

Gemini 2 Launch

Gemini 2 Launch