We continue here with various space history resources
and reference materials including links to biographies
of astronauts and others involved with rocketry and
space, to space encyclopedias, etc.
Missile
Index Extensive database on missiles both present and
past. Note that missiles are not always used as weapons
but also as sounding rockets and even orbital launchers.
"provide a general overview of these space missions
to the average reader, not just those fluent in aerospace
geek speak. "
Mark
Wades Encyclopedia Astronautica
Mark Wade created this enormous encyclopedia of space
information including lots of historical data on both
NASA and Soviet programs, rockets, and spacecraft. Sections
include
Jim
Lovell and the Flight of Apollo 13
This unofficial web-biography
of Jim Lovell by Tanny Web Publishing is based generally
on the book Lost Moon - the Perilous Voyage of Apollo
13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. Sections include
Lovell's experiences not just on Apollo
13 but also on his Gemini
missions and Apollo
8.
John
Young Dana Holland
has put together a fine tribute to John Young's long and
varied career in space exploration. The pages include
details of his Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
Major
Michael Adams became the 27th American astronaut
on November 15th 1967 during a high altitude test
flight of the X-15. Unfortunately, the vehicle experienced
hardware problems during the reentry and he was killed.
Major
Michael Adams Monument Dedication.
Rockets
by Robert H. Goddard , available at Dover
Publications, "comprised of two papers written
by Robert Goddard for the Smithsonian Institution:
"A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" and "Liquid
Propellant Rocket Development." Two of the most significant
publications in the history of rockets and jet propulsion,
these reports--the first published in 1919 and the
second in 1936--were issued at a time when little
was known about rockets and jet propulsion."
Jack
Parsons: Sex and Rockets
This Salon.com article
discusses the amazing life of JPL co-founder and occultist
Jack Parsons. Considered one of the fathers of American
rocketry, Parsons led a bizarre double life that eventually
led to his tragic downfall.
Gene
Schoemaker
Remembrances at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the
famous geologist who made major contributions to the understanding
of our solar system.
Tsiolkovsky
Museum
This museum in the city of Kaluga, Russia is dedicated
to Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), considered by
many to be the father of astronautics. While working as
a high school teacher, he developed the basic theories
of multi-stage rockets, liquid fuel rockets, gyroscope
attitude control, and many other techniques for space
travel. [The links for this site are dead but I will keep
this entry in hopes that the site can be found at another
URL.]
Lowell Wood & Space Exploration - Lowell Wood
is a famous star warrior at Lawrence Livermore Lab
who originated many concepts for the SDI program.
After the Challenger disaster, he came up with some
detailed plans for space exploration that involved
bypassing NASA. Marcus
Lindroos has collected a couple of Wood's presentations
and posted them on his site:
Here we look at the contributions of
space probes, communications satellites, spy satellites
and other unmanned systems that contributed to the
exploration and development of space.
Sat
Magazine - The History of Satellites series -
Reprinted from: Communication Satellites (5th
Ed.) Authored by Donald Martin, Paul Anderson, Lucy
Bartamian
The
Voyages of the Voyagers - Robert
J.M. Barron provides this extensive survey
of the amazing accomplishments of the two Voyager
spacecraft, which are still sending data after
over 20 years in space. Sections include:
"We've spent between thirty-five
and forty billion dollars on space...but if nothing
else had come from that program except the knowledge
that we get from our satellite photography, it would
be worth ten times to us what the whole program has
cost. Because tonight I know how many missiles the
enemy has and...our guesses were way off. And we were
doing things that we didn't need to do. We were building
things that we didn't need to build. We were harboring
fears that we didn't need to have." - President
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1967
FAS:
Imagery Intelligence Gallery - The Federation
of American Scientists maintains a vigorous effort
to monitor the actions and policies of the US intelligence
agencies and to research their past. This includes
a keen interest in spy satellites. This image gallery
contains photos as far back as the very first US spysats
in the late 1950s and early 1960s. See also the Intelligence
Resource Program for extensive info about the
US intelligence system.
The
Beginnings of America's Man in Space Program
[ Space.com, which bought the SpaceViews site several
years ago, no longer posts the articles listed below.
Fortunately, Bruce
Cranford notified me that most of them are available
in the SEDS
SpaceViews archive. I will eventually relink the
files below but in the meantime you can search for a
particular article at SEDS. - Sept. 10, 2002]
Andrew J. LePage traces the beginnings of the
US manned spaceflight program as far back as 1952 in
this three part article in SpaceViews Oct.1, 1998 issue.
New
York Times: NASA at 40 - A New York times article
(requires free subscription) that includes pages on
most of the major NASA programs since its start.
Space
History at Space.com - The section at Space.com
dedicated to space history with articles, interviews,
etc.
German
Civilian Rocketry - Astronautix - history
of non-military rocketry, especially the fervent period
of the 1920s and early 30's when rocket enthusiasts
and clubs were developing many rockets.
Canceled Space Projects
Aerospace
Projects Review - This site specializes in
reports on the many promising aerospace projects that
never made it to the production line or even the drawing
board.
Deep Cold
by Dan Roam- Beautiful 3-D displays of several
planned spacecraft that never reached the hardware
stages such as DynaSoar and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory.
RLV
History - includes resources about a number
of canceled space transport projects
Disney & Space
Walt Disney great;u influenced public opinion about
space in the 1950s and early 1960s by broadcasting several
special episodes of his weekly show made in collaboration
with Wernher von Braun. Disneyland, and later DisneyWorld,
also featured various space related exhibits and rides.
JFK's
Rice University Speech - September 12, 1962 -
JFK Library - The full text of John F. Kennedy's address
at Rice University where he laid out his justification
for the nation's space effort. (Includes streamed
audio recording)
The Omega Watch company provides a large on
line museum dedicated to the use of their watches
by astronauts and cosmonauts. NASA endorsed the
watch in 1965 and it became the standard watch
for the astronauts.
The Bulova Accutron introduced in 1961 was the
first successful transistorized watch. It was
not worn by the astronauts but the same mechanism
was used in numerous timing devices in the capsules
and also in satellites and scientific devices.
Edwards
Air Force Base - The Edwards site offers a lot
of history about the famous aerospace testing facility.
The history seciton includes articles about the X-15
and other space related vehicles.
