Nov 28

Space Rocket History #40 – The First Woman in Space, Vostok 5 & 6 with Bykovsky and Tereshkova – Part 2

Posted on November 28, 2013 by spac9750

Vostok 5’s orbit turned out to be lower than the expected 181 by 235 km. The actual orbit was 175 by 222 km. Initial calculations indicated the orbit of Vostok 5 would not decay for 10 or 11 days, however more conservative estimates, taking into account the increased solar activity and the resulting expanding of the upper atmosphere showed that the orbit could decay after only 8 days. With no way of predicting where Vostok 5 might land, the planned eight-day mission was now in question…

Tereshkova

Tereshkova on TV

Oct 17

Space Rocket History #34 – Group Flight – Vostok 3 and 4

Posted on October 17, 2013 by spac9750

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In February of 1962, the United States put John Glenn into orbit. This prompted Soviet leadership to suddenly asked Chief Designer Korolev to launch the next space spectacular promptly. To make this mission truly spectacular the Soviets decided to launch a group flight of two Vostoks lasting up to four days in orbit.

Nikolaev

Popovich

Rolling Out

Vostok 4 on Pad

Popovich in Orbit

Nikolaev & Popovich

Mission Patch

By Dave

The Troops and I Thank-you For the Likes

The Troops and I Thank-you For 100 Likes on Facebook!

Jul 26

Space Rocket History #22 – The Vanguard Six

Posted on July 26, 2013 by spac9750

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When the 20 Cosmonaut candidates were asked to anonymously vote for which candidate they would like to see fly first, all but three chose Gagarin. The consensus was, Gagarin was very focused, and demanding of himself and others when necessary.