Salyut - The First Space Station Triumph and Tragedy

About this book

This remarkable book offers a unique insight into the people involved in the development of the Salyut space station and the crews assigned to operate it. It describes the rotation between the crews, analyses the decision to send the back-up crew on Soyuz 11 and recounts the intrigues and difficult relationships between all the personalities involved - politicians, CKBEM managers, designers, generals and cosmonauts.

Biographies of the Soyuz 11 cosmonauts are published for the first time in English and the longest manned space mission of the time is described before Grujica Ivanovich gives a unique summary of the most tragic day in the Soviet/Russian manned space program. An investigation into the cause of the tragic deaths of the Soyuz 11 cosmonauts precedes a description of the post-Salyut era, showing how the legacy of the first space station has survived for decades.

Contents

From Almaz to Salyut.- DOS-1 Crews.- Salyut in Space.- Drama of the Granites.- Mutiny at the Cosmodrome.- Dobrovolskiy, Volkov and Patsayev.- Home in Orbit.- Science and Conflicts.- The Fire.- Drawing Away from the Station.- Cosmonauts Dead on Landing.- Farewell.- Thirteen Seconds to Eternity.- The Fall of the Chief Designer.- Memories.- Glossary.- Personnel.- Bibliography.- Index.

Customer Reviews