This is a unique attempt to visualise space exploration¹s future through the eyes of Russian space engineers and to describe that nation¹s plans in space. Based on actual documents, rather than on guesswork, it is the first comprehensive illustrated book dedicated to the Russian vision for the future of manned spaceflight from the dawn of manned spaceflight until today. Lavishly illustrated with images of unparalleled artistic quality and technical accuracy, the book: puts the development of the Russian manned spacecraft into political and historical context; uniquely describes the future of space exploration through the eyes of Russian space engineers and planners; introduces hitherto unrevealed systems developed for the Russian space program; describes past events and future plans in the historical context of the fall and rise of the Russian space program.

An insider's view into the U.S.-Russian space program In Star-Crossed Orbits, space veteran and bestselling author James Oberg combines riveting personal memoir with top-notch investigative journalism to tell the complete untold story of the U.S.-Russian space alliance. With unparalleled access to official Russian archives, facilities, and key individuals associated with the Russian space program, he describes the strengths and weaknesses that each side of the alliance brings to the table. And he reveals for the first time the full story of Russia's decaying space program and how it ultimately was saved from collapse by Western funds. Praise for Star Crossed Orbits: "A unique background and base of experience underlies this remarkable book by Jim Oberg. It is must reading for anyone who wishes to understand the culture with which one must deal when attempting to cooperate with Russia or counter its initiatives, whether peaceful or otherwise. Times change with the clock." --Dr. H.H. 'Jack' Schmitt, Apollo moon walker, US Senator "Jim Oberg's new book is an absolute must read for those who have followed the first decades of the human exploration of space. He reveals all sorts of insider information on all sides of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, later Russia, as they attempted to forge a successful partnership in space. . . Don't miss this one!" --Admiral Richard Truly, Space Shuttle Astronaut and former NASA Administrator "[Star-Crossed Orbits] is a great piece of investigative journalism. [Its] detailed, comprehensive and well documented description of the political environment that shaped the International Space Station is a service to NASA and the nation. . . [This] book is a must read for program managers, engineers and scientists engaged in present and future projects with Russia." --Gene Kranz, Apollo Flight Director, author of 'Failure is Not An Option' "Finally, someone is telling it like it is about the Russian manned space programthe good, the bad and the ugly. The Russians pulled the wool over our eyes for decades. It continues even today, only now America is paying for it. I have relied on Jim for years because no one knows it or tells it like he does." --Walter Cunningham, Apollo VII Astronaut (first manned Apollo mission) "In this reasoned indictment, James Oberg reveals the self-delusional and cynically deceptive deals in which the US allowed Russia to be a controlling partner in constructing the International Space station. He details the terrible cost in time, national treasure and integrity that this causedand how, despite these self-inflicted barriers, America's much-maligned space workers successfully built it anyway." --Frederick C. Durant III, Former Assistant Director, National Air and Space Museum

This, fifty years after Sputnik, is the definitive book on the Russian space program. The author covers all the key elements of the current Russian space program, including both manned and unmanned missions. He examines the various types of unmanned applications programs as well as the crucial military program, and even analyzes the infrastructure of production, launch centres and tracking. You’ll also find discussion of the commercialization of the program and its relationship with western companies. Russia’s current space experiment is also put in a comparative global context. Strong emphasis is placed on Russia’s future space intentions and on new programs and missions in prospect.

Brian Harvey recounts for the first time the definitive history of scientific Russian space probes and the knowledge they acquired of the Earth, its environment, the Moon, Mars and Venus. He examines what Russian Space Science has actually achieved in furthering our knowledge of the Solar System, focusing on the instrumentation and scientific objectives and outcomes, the information gained and lessons learnt. Boxes and charts are used extensively in order to convey in an easily understandable manner for the non-scientific reader the problems and issues addressed and solved by Soviet space science. The book opens with the story of early space science in Russia, which started when the first Russian rockets were fired into the high atmosphere from Kapustin Yar in the late 1940s. Instruments were carried to measure and map the atmosphere and later rockets carried dogs to test their reactions to weightlessness. In order to beat America into Earth orbit, two simpler satellites than originally planned were launched, Sputnik and Sputnik 2, which provided some initial information on atmospheric density, while the following Sputnik 3 carried twelve instruments to measure radiation belts, solar radiation, the density of the atmosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field. The author recounts how, by the 1960s, the Soviet Union had developed a program of investigation of near-Earth space using satellites within the Cosmos program, in particular the DS (Dnepropetrovsky Sputnik), small satellites developed to investigate meteoroids, radiation, the magnetic fields, the upper atmosphere, solar activity, ionosphere, charged particles, cosmic rays and geophysics. Brian Harvey then gives the scientific results from Russian lunar exploration, starting with the discovery of the solar wind by the First Cosmic Ship and the initial mapping of the lunar far side by the Automatic Interplanetary Station. He describes Luna 10, which made the first full study of the lunar environment, Luna 16 which brought soil back to Earth and the two Moon rovers which travelled 50 kms across the lunar surface taking thousands of measurements, soil analyses and photographs, as well as profiles of discrete areas. Chapters 4 and 5 describe in detail the scientific outcomes of the missions to Venus and Mars, before considering the orbiting space stations in Chapter 6. Space science formed an important part of the early manned space program, the prime focus being the human reaction to weightlessness, how long people could stay in orbit and the effects on the body, as well as radiation exposure. Chapter 7 looks at the later stage of Soviet and Russian space science, including Astron and Granat, the two observatories of the 1980s, and Bion, the space biology program which flew monkeys and other animals into orbit. The final chapter looks forward to a new period of Russian space science with the Spektr series of observatories and a range smaller science satellites under the Federal Space Plan 2006-2015.

This is the very first ‘inside story’ of a key part of the Soviet manned space programme, detailing the development of Soviet/Russian spacesuits. The authors, as participants in the programme, provide details of events, previously unknown in the West, including their technical development. These space suits were an important part of the many Soviet firsts in the space race – Yuri Gagarin’s flight, Valentina Tereskova, the first woman in space, the first space walk by Alexei Leonov, and the first transfer on orbit from one spacecraft to another. All previous books on Soviet manned space flights focus on the spacecraft and cosmonaut teams. This book provides a total overview of the successful Soviet/Russian development of space suits and subsequent space walks from Vostok to MIR and ISS.

Among the many successes of the Soviet Union were inaugural space flight—ahead of the United States—and many other triumphs related to aviation. Aviators and cosmonauts enjoyed heroic status in the Soviet Union, and provided supports of the Soviet project with iconic figures which could be used to bolster the regime’s visions, self-confidence, and the image of itself as forward looking and futuristic. This book explores how the themes of aviation and space flight have been depicted in film, animation, art, architecture, and digital media. Incorporating many illustrations, the book covers a wide range of subjects, including the representations of heroes, the construction of myths, and the relationship between visual art forms and Soviet/Russian culture and society.

The heritage of the major Mir complex hardware elements is described. These elements include Soyuz-TM and Progress-M ; the Kvant, Kvant 2, and Kristall modules ; and the Mir base block. Configuration changes and major mission events of Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir multiport space stations are described in detail for the period 1977-1994. A comparative chronology of U.S. and Soviet/Russian manned spaceflight is also given for that period. The 68 illustrations include comparative scale drawings of U.S. and Russian spacecraft as well as sequential drawings depicting missions and mission events.