Space Rocket History Podcast

Salyut 3 featured a “self-defense” gun purportedly designed by Alexander Nudelman for station use. Some reports suggest it was outfitted with a Nudelman-Rikhter “Vulkan” gun, a modified version of the 23mm Nudelman aircraft cannon, or conceivably a Nudelman NR-30 30mm … Continue reading →

NASA’s Explorer 50, also known as Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8 or IMP-8, stands as a testament to humanity’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and exploration beyond the confines of Earth.

Scientists had long been intrigued by Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury remained largely unexplored, with many questions remaining about its surface features, geological composition, and magnetic field. The scientific community … Continue reading →

Pioneer 11 detected Saturn’s bow shock on Aug. 31, 1979, about 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) out from the planet, thus providing the first conclusive evidence of the existence of Saturn’s magnetic field.

This second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz 7k-T was flown on Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 missions from 1973–1981. The new 7K-T spacecraft was designed to accommodate only two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suits at all times … Continue reading →

At this point in 1973, the Soviets were attempting to fly 2 types of space station, the long duration orbital station scientific version called DOS. The other station was a military spy space station equipped with a machine gun, called … Continue reading →

Despite predictions, events seldom occur precisely as expected. The calculated breakup altitude of Skylab was based on its intended structural strength specifications. However, the actual vehicle was stronger than the specified strength requirements.

The official decision to proceed with the Skylab reboost mission was made on September 1st 1977, initiating a two-year preparation period for the development and production of the required hardware and systems.

Early in the planning stages of the Skylab flight, there was a desire to keep it in orbit long enough to use it as the core of a larger station.

Activating the station upon arrival was a challenge, but packing up to return home was also a major event that took several days. For Carr and his crew, this was the last planned visit, but they left open the possibility … Continue reading →