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Aug 01

Space Rocket History #23 – Vostok 1 with Yuri Gagarin

Posted on August 1, 2013 by spac9750

“Dear friends, you who are close to me, and you whom I do not know, fellow Russians, and people of all countries and all continents: in a few minutes a powerful space vehicle will carry me into the distant realm of space. What can I tell you in these last minutes before the launch? My whole life appears to me as one beautiful moment. All that I previously lived through and did, was lived through and done for the sake of this moment.” Yuri Gagarin prior to launch of Vostok 1.

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.

Gagarin

Titov

Nikolaev

Popovic

Bykovsky

Tereshkova

Tereshkova & Nikolaev

Jul 18

Space Rocket History #21 – Cry Havoc and Launch the Dogs of Vostok!

Posted on July 18, 2013 by spac9750

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For the Soviet Union, 1960 was a mixed bag of success and failure as it struggled for new achievements in space exploration. The main driving force was to be the first nation to launch a man into space. An achievement their adversary, the United States, also desperately wanted.

Vostok on Test Stand

Vostok Flight Plan

Belka and Strelka

Vostok With Third Stage

Vostok Dog Capsule

Card From Dog Capsule

Strelka With Pups

Jul 04

Space Rocket History #19 – Little Joe: Mercury’s Test Vehicle

Posted on July 4, 2013 by spac9750

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“The designers made the Little Joe booster assembly to approximate the same performance that the Army’s Redstone booster would have with the capsule payload. But in addition to being flexible enough to perform a variety of missions, Little Joe could be made for about one-fifth the basic cost of the Redstone, would have much lower operating costs, and could be developed and delivered with much less time and effort. And, unlike the larger launch vehicles, Little Joe could be shot from the existing facilities at Wallops Island.”