Soviet Space History

12 April 1961 is another of those important dates humans shouldn’t forget. It was the day a human first entered space, if only for 108 minutes. That human was a Soviet Cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin. The Daily Kos posted this article yesterday, giving some information on the Space Race between the US and USSR, and […]

Chinese Space: What has changed?

To hear people tell it, China seems to be gaining the upper-hand in the space warfare department. This Freebeacon post (http://freebeacon.com/experts-china-boosts-space-warfare-capabilities/) tells a tale of the devious Chinese space activities threatening the United States. Articles like this are designed to get people fired up, and that’s disturbing. There are reasons to worry about the future […]

Is there really a “Space Race?” (cue “Chariots of Fire”)

“there can be only one?” There are headlines so full of assumptions, you sometimes have to take a step back, and think long and hard about the “angle” of the article. In this instance, I’m referring to The Age, an Australian newspaper with an article, dated November 9, headlined “China to win space race unless […]

Soviet AntiSatellite History

Popular Mechanics has a great post, The Hidden History of the Soviet Satellite-Killer, of the history of Soviet/Russian antisatellite (ASAT) systems. Did you know the first successful satellite interception test probably happened a little over 45 years ago? And the Soviets were the ones to do it? It’s a worthwhile read, if you’re interested. For the rest […]

Russian spacesuits, showers, and toilets for space operators

Popular Mechanics posted this article and these pictures of an old Soviet spacesuit factory. According to the article, the Tomilino, Russia-based factory is still manufacturing things (but doesn’t really say spacesuits, specifically). They apparently manufactured spacesuits for cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin–and for dogs named Laika, too. The toilet looks, um, functional. Related articles Skydiver record could affect spacesuit […]