The Great Space Race

Possibly the most extensive and entertaining book about the Space Race yet published. Follows the evolution of space flight from the V2 rocket through to the first landing on the moon by Apollo 11. Now includes:Book One: First into Orbit and Book Two: First to the MoonDid you know that the US Government prevented Wernher von Braun from launching a satellite a year before Sputnik? Or that one of his engineers had a satellite hidden in the trunk of his car, just waiting for an opportunity? That mousetrap springs were used in the Vanguard rocket to save costs? What stopped Khrushchev's plan to put a man in orbit in 1958 and allow him to die there?At the end of WW2 the US Army captured the German V-2 rocket research centre at Peenemunde just weeks ahead of the Soviets. Within days they'd stripped the site and shipped train loads of rocket components to the United States. Their most valuable prize however, was Wernher von Braun, head of the German V-2 program, and his team of scientists. Along with thousands of vital documents, this group was flown to America to work in an Army research facility at El Paso, New Mexico.When Peenemunde was handed over to the Soviets as part of the allied post war agreement, they found the cupboard literally bare. It was up to Sergei Korolev, head designer for Soviet rocket research, to examine what was left and re-create the V-2's design. Leading a team of Soviet and captured German scientists, within a year they'd built a Russian version of the V-2, and the race for missile supremacy with the United States had begun.Book One - First Into Orbit - describes the competition between the USA and the Soviet Union up to the launch of Sputnik, Explorer and Vanguard. It also follows the careers of the men behind both nation's rocket research programs - Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev.Fear gripped America when the Soviets developed the A Bomb years ahead of predictions, making way for a climate of paranoia when senator McCarthy began his Communist witch-hunt and a civil defence program tried to convince the population that there was no need to be afraid of the "bomb". The somewhat tragic-comedy "Duck and Cover" campaign is described, along with links to the video productions used to educate the youth of the era.It took the launching of Sputnik 1 in October 1957, to shake the Americans out of their complacency, only for them to realize they'd been eclipsed by the Russians. Panic gripped the nation as Sputnik 1 orbited, and a month later Sputnik 2, containing the dog Laika, caused a public outcry. America, that bastion of freedom and supposed world leader in technology had been outclassed by "a nation of potato farmers".After the first attempt by the US to orbit their Vanguard satellite ended in an embarrassing explosion on the pad, von Braun was given the go ahead. In less than 90 days, his team orbited Explorer.Book Two - First to the Moon - takes you through the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, and the Soviet, Vostok, Soyuz and Salyut programs, up to the landing on the moon by Apollo 11.This section includes radio transcripts from several of the Apollo missions including Apollo 11. It also reveals the desperate last minute attempts by the Soviets to upstage Apollo 11 with their N1 moon rocket and their Luna 15 robot probe.The Great Space Race covers one of the most exciting periods of world history, an era when the true spirit of adventure was alive in America and the world respected them for it.