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Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet
space program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand
accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian
accomplishments in exploring space. The memoir of Academician Boris
Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. In
Volume 1 of "Rockets and People," Chertok described his early life
as an aeronautical engineer and his adventures as a member of the
Soviet team that searched postwar, occupied Germany for the
remnants of the Nazi rocket program. In Volume 2, Chertok takes up
the story after his return to the Soviet Union in 1946, when Stalin
ordered the foundation of the postwar missile program at an old
artillery factory northeast of Moscow. Chertok gives an
unprecedented view into the early days of the Soviet missile
program. With a keen talent for combining technical and human
interests, Chertok writes of the origins and creation of the
Baykonur Cosmodrome in a remote desert region of Kazakhstan. He
devotes a substantial portion of Volume 2 to describing the launch
of the first Sputnik satellite and the early lunar and
interplanetary probes designed under legendary Chief Designer
Sergey Korolev in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He ends with a
detailed description of the famous R-16 catastrophe known as the
"Nedelin disaster," which killed scores of engineers during
preparations for a missile launch in 1960.
NASA SP-4113. The NASA History Series. Provides a biography of Dr.
William H. Pickering. The dust jacket states: "More than any other
individual Bill Pickering was responsible for America's success in
exploring the planets, an endeavor that demanded vision, courage,
dedication, expertise, and the ability to inspire two generations
of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory," a
quote from Thomas P. Everhart.
NASA SP 2010-4319. NASA History Series. This scholarly look at the
Altitude Wind Tunnel covers the transformations the wind tunnel
made in its long history from a wind tunnel doing full-scale
testing for wartime applications, to a vacuum chamber supporting
the Vision for Space Exploration, and even a brief period as home
to Mercury astronaut training. The book also addresses the attempts
to resurrect the facility and its eventual decommissioning and
demolition.
NASA SP-2009-1704. Steven J. Dick, Editor. Based on a symposium
held on October 28-29, 2008 at NASA. Scholars turn a critical eye
toward NASA's first 50 years.
At a May 1981 "Proseminar in Space History'' held at the
Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in
Washington, DC, historians came together to consider the state of
the discipline of space history. It was an historic occasion. The
community of scholars interested in the history of spaceflight was
not large; previously, well-meaning but untrained aficionados
consumed with artifacts had dominated the field, to the exclusion
of the larger context. At a fundamental level, this proseminar
represented a "declaration of independence'' for what might be
called the "new aerospace history.'' In Retrospect, it may be
interpreted as marking the rise of space history as a recognizable
subdiscipline within the field of U.S. history. Bringing together a
diverse collection of scholars to review the state of the art in
space history, this proseminar helped in a fundamental manner to
define the field and to chart a course for future research. Its
participants set about the task of charting a course for
collecting, preserving, and disseminating the history of space
exploration within a larger context of space policy and technology.
In large measure, the course charted by the participants in this
1981 proseminar aided in advancing a very successful agenda of
historical research, writing, and understanding of space history.
Not every research project has yielded acceptable results, nor can
it be expected to do so, but the sum of the effort since 1981 has
been impressive. The opportunities for both the exploration of
space and for recording its history have been significant. Both
endeavors are noble and aimed at the enhancement of humanity.
Whither the history of spaceflight Only time will tell. But there
has been an emergent "new aerospace history'' of which space
history is a central part that moves beyond an overriding concern
for the details of the artifact to emphasize the broader role of
the spacecraft. More importantly, it emphasizes the whole
technological system, including not just the vehicle but also the
other components that make up the aerospace climate, as an integral
part of the human experience. It suggests that many unanswered
questions spur the development of flight and that inquisitive
individuals seek to know that which they do not understand.
NASA-SP-2009-4802. NASA History Series. Edited by Steven J. Dick
and Mark L. Lupisella. Authors with diverse backgrounds in science,
history, anthropology, and more, consider culture in the context of
the cosmos. How does our knowledge of cosmic evolution affect
terrestrial culture? Conversely, how does our knowledge of cultural
evolution affect our thinking about possible cultures in the
cosmos? Are life, mind, and culture of fundamental significance to
the grand story of the cosmos that has generated its own
self-understanding through science, rational reasoning, and
mathematics? Book includes bibliographical references and an index.
First published in 2002 as volume 24 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1997 as volume 6 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2000 as volume 20 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1999 as volume 16 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1996 as volume 5 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1999 as volume 14 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1999 as volume 13 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2003 as volume 30 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1998 as volume 8 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1994 in the NASA Monograph in Aerospace History
series. From the introduction: "On 25 May 1961 President John F.
Kennedy announced to the nation a goal of sending an American
safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. This decision
involved much study and review prior to making it public, and
tremendous expenditure and effort to make it a reality by 1969.
Only the building of the Panama Canal rivaled the Apollo program's
size as the largest non- military technological endeavor ever
undertaken by the United States; only the Manhattan Project was
comparable in a wartime setting. The human spaceflight imperative
was a direct outgrowth of it; Projects Mercury (at least in its
latter stages), Gemini, and Apollo were each designed to execute
it. It was finally successfully accomplished on 20 July 1969, when
Apollo 11's astronaut Neil Armstrong left the Lunar Module and set
foot on the surface of the Moon." Illustrated.
First published in 1995 as volume 4 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2002 as volume 27 in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2005 as a volume in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2009 as a volume in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2002 as a volume in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 1998 as a volume in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
First published in 2003 as a volume in the NASA "Monograph in
Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and
illustrations.
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