The Soviet Space Race With Apollo

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Summary: Soviet Space Race With Apollo adds flesh to the rumours
Review: For anyone who has an interest in the space race, or the Soviet space program, this book is a must read. It covers the Mishin years as chief designer, and chronicles the downfall of the soviet manned lunar orbital, and lunar landing programs, which were cancelled after the fourth failure of the N1 super booster in 1974. It also covers the Glushko era, and the formation of NPO Energia in the late 1970's.

My only critisizm of the book is that it can be heavy going in places, typical of any official NASA history text. All the known facts are recorded in print, no matter how mundane they may be. However, many of these facts are the details that serious space buffs have thirsted for, for many years. This book adds flesh to the bones of Soviet space history, and shines light into previously shady areas. Topics of particular interest are: the failure of Soyuz 1, the death of Gagarin, the crushing affects of Apollo 8, and the long and continuous string of Proton and N1 launch failures that caused the demise of the Soviet lunar program.

The Soviets eventually turned to their military Almaz program for salvation; which spawned the Salyut space station. This too turned to disater when the first occupants died aboard their Soyuz 11 re-entry vehicle. Some of the books best moments are the eye witness accounts of pivotal events in the program, reproduced from the diaries of General Nikolay Kamanin and the touching story of the N1 booster, which was so close to success before it was ultimately cancelled, dismantled, and completely destoyed by Glushko.

The book is illustrated with small black and white images, but for better photographs, of the N1 and other soviet equipment of this era, I recommend "Rocket and Space Corporation Energia: The Legacy of S. P. Korolev".

Rating:
Summary: You think you have job stress ?
Review: You think you have job stress? This book,written from Russian source material by a PhD candidate commisioned by NASA, details the huge difficulties Russian engineers had trying to accomplish what they did in the chaotic and Byzantine world of the Soviet space program. Their technical decisions are well described and their personal issues and rivalries dealt with fairly and objectively. I came away with a deep respect for the achievments of the Russians. Their technology base was thin and weak compared to that of the U.S. and they developed many innovative ways to overcome it. The two most interesting aspects to me were the way in which German missile technology was incorporated and then surpassed to start the Russian program and the coverage of the ill-fated but fascinating N1/L1 Moon program. Do be warned - this is a dense, heavily researched, and highly detailed book - not a light read !