New Peter Alway Booklet

[aerostadt]

Peter Alway has published a new booklet, "Selected USAF Missiles of the Cold War". I purchased mine from Aerospace Specialty Products. There is a lot of information on the early Atlas missile, etc. I remember growing up in those days. The US was having rocket failures all the time. It could not have been comforting to the original Mercury astronauts to see those Atlas failures.

https://www.asp-rocketry.com/ecomme...Cold-War.cfm?item_id=2425&parent=22&navPanel=

 

[Jimmy]

It's remarkable that the first astronauts were launched into space on modified IRBM/ICBMs. From what I have read, it was the quickest way for the U.S. to enter the space race against the U.S.S.R. The Atlas barely had enough energy to place Mercury into orbit. What guts those guys had in the early days.

 

[WillMarchant]

And first cosmonauts, too. I guess you could still make a strong case about the current Soyuz and Progress launchers. My copy of Peter's booklet shuold be showing up today. Looking forward to it!

 

[OverTheTop]

Russia used the R7 "Semyorka" missile for launching their cosmonauts. We know it today as the Soyuz.
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol3_detail.html

 

[Tim51]

@Jimmy @WillMarchant In the context of the era, both sides were demonstrating their respective ballistic missile range, guidance and reentry technologies. The not-so-subliminal message being 'if we can put a man and his life support equipment in orbit and steer him around, then bring him down wherever, we can do it with a bomb too'. Iirc Nikita Krushev said as much on at least one occasion. But of course the space race was also about the general drive to demonstrate economic power, technical and industrial dominance, achieve global cultural hegemony etc, by being the first to achieve various very complicated and expensive things.

 

[Titan II]

@Jimmy @WillMarchant In the context of the era, both sides were demonstrating their respective ballistic missile range, guidance and reentry technologies. The not-so-subliminal message being 'if we can put a man and his life support equipment in orbit and steer him around, then bring him down wherever, we can do it with a bomb too'. Iirc Nikita Krushev said as much on at least one occasion. But of course the space race was also about the general drive to demonstrate economic power, technical and industrial dominance, achieve global cultural hegemony etc, by being the first to achieve various very complicated and expensive things.

 

[Tim51]

Well exactly mate... you can keep yer cosmonauts and yer astronauts - we had Diana Rigg