The Soyuz Launch Vehicle
Subtitle: The Two Lives of an Engineering Triumph
By: by Christian Lardier, Stefan Barensky
Contributors: Barensky, Stefan; SpringerLink (Online service)
Series: Springer Praxis Books
Publisher: Springer New York; Imprint: Springer
Published: 2013
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 500
ISBN-13: 9781461454595
Subjects: Popular Science in Astronomy; Popular Science in Mathematics/Computer Science/Natural Science/Technology; Engineering; Astronautics; Aerospace Technology and Astronautics; Mathematics; Astronomy
Description: The Soyuz launch vehicle has had a long and illustrious history. Built as the world's first intercontinental missile, it took the first man into space in April 1961, before becoming the workhorse of Russian spaceflight, launching satellites, interplanetary probes, every cosmonaut from Gagarin onwards, and, now, the multinational crews of the International Space Station.This remarkable book gives a complete and accurate description of the two lives of Soyuz, chronicling the cooperative space endeavor of Europe and Russia. First, it takes us back to the early days of astronautics, when technology served politics. From archives found in the Soviet Union the authors describe the difficulty of designing a rocket in the immediate post-war period. Then, in Soyuz's golden age, it launched numerous scientific missions and manned flights which were publicized worldwide while the many more numerous military missions were kept highly confidential!The second part of the book tells the contemporary story of the second life of Soyuz, gathered from Western sources and interviews with key protagonists. It addresses the sensitive issue of the strategic choices that led to the establishment of Soyuz in French Guiana, describing the role of a few visionaries in Russia and in Europe who decided to leave their respective isolation behind and bring Syouz and Ariane together.In the final analysis, this book is a profound description of a formidable human adventure.
Table of contents: title: Part I: Soyuz in the East; title: The V-2’s heir; title: Designing the Semyorka; title: The Council of Chief Designers; title: Korolev’s Subsidiaries; title: The Various Versions; title: The Launch Bases; title: Part II: Soyuz in the West; title: A Fantasy Launcher; title: East meets West; title: Genesis of Starsem; title: Europeans on the Steppe; title: Russians in the Jungle; title: Soyuz – Launcher of the Future.