Hey everyone,
On March 18, 1965, Alexey Leonov became the first human being to walk in space. The walk only lasted for 12 minutes and 9 seconds, but he walked into history. Only a 5.35 meter tether attached to him to the spacecraft. The suit soon expanded due to the vacuum of space, and he was not able to re-enter the craft at first. Using a valve, he let off the air which allowed him to re-enter the craft. Leonov was part of the original 20 cosmonauts chosen for space travel. Had the Soviets continued to win the space race, Leonov would probably have been the first man to walk on the moon. These missions would be canceled when the Soviets fell behind in the space race. Leonov would train astronauts until his retirement in 1991.
Showing posts with label Soviet space program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soviet space program. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Yuri Gagarin and Vostok 1
Hey everyone,
Vostok 1 was the first rocket to take a man into space. That man was Yuri Gagarin, a pilot who was selected out of twenty cosmonauts. In 1960, the selection process began, and the men were subjected to physical and psychological endurance tests. Eventually, he was selected due to his performance in training and small stature (he stood 5'2" tall). On April 12, 1961, Gagarin was the first man launched into space. Once in space, he orbited the Earth (another first). He spent a total of 1 hour, 48 minutes in space. After his journey into space, Gagarin would become the deputy training director of the Star City cosmonaut training base. Later, he flew fighter jets again, but, tragically, on March 27, 1968, he would die in a fighter jet crash. Yet, his actions will always be historic, and, again, would prove that the Americans were losing the space race. Soon, they would respond.
Vostok 1 was the first rocket to take a man into space. That man was Yuri Gagarin, a pilot who was selected out of twenty cosmonauts. In 1960, the selection process began, and the men were subjected to physical and psychological endurance tests. Eventually, he was selected due to his performance in training and small stature (he stood 5'2" tall). On April 12, 1961, Gagarin was the first man launched into space. Once in space, he orbited the Earth (another first). He spent a total of 1 hour, 48 minutes in space. After his journey into space, Gagarin would become the deputy training director of the Star City cosmonaut training base. Later, he flew fighter jets again, but, tragically, on March 27, 1968, he would die in a fighter jet crash. Yet, his actions will always be historic, and, again, would prove that the Americans were losing the space race. Soon, they would respond.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Luna 1 (and 2)
Hey everyone,
The Luna 1 was the first cosmic ship to exit our atmosphere completely on a course for the moon. The spacecraft, itself, weighed 361.3kgs, and the tools that it contained included radio equipment, a tracking transmitter, a telemetry system, and five devices for studying the space between the Earth and the moon. It was launched by the Soviets on January 2, 1959, and it reached the moon on January 4th. The spacecraft found that the moon has no magnetic field, but it also took readings of solar wind and ionized plasma that came from the Sun on its journey. Upon reaching Earth's only satellite, the craft was supposed to crash into it, but there was a malfunction which caused the craft to miss by 5,900km. However, Luna 2 would succeed in this task. After missing the moon, the spacecraft went into orbit around the Sun and remains there today. When this first happened, the Soviets renamed it the Mechta which means dream and called it a new planet. Its orbit is between Earth and Mars with a period of approximately 450 days. While it did not strike the moon, it is still quite an achievement.
The Luna 1 was the first cosmic ship to exit our atmosphere completely on a course for the moon. The spacecraft, itself, weighed 361.3kgs, and the tools that it contained included radio equipment, a tracking transmitter, a telemetry system, and five devices for studying the space between the Earth and the moon. It was launched by the Soviets on January 2, 1959, and it reached the moon on January 4th. The spacecraft found that the moon has no magnetic field, but it also took readings of solar wind and ionized plasma that came from the Sun on its journey. Upon reaching Earth's only satellite, the craft was supposed to crash into it, but there was a malfunction which caused the craft to miss by 5,900km. However, Luna 2 would succeed in this task. After missing the moon, the spacecraft went into orbit around the Sun and remains there today. When this first happened, the Soviets renamed it the Mechta which means dream and called it a new planet. Its orbit is between Earth and Mars with a period of approximately 450 days. While it did not strike the moon, it is still quite an achievement.
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