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Post by gwiz on Jul 3, 2009 9:56:51 GMT -4
Another 40th anniversary today, the second launch of Russia's giant N1 moon rocket. Unfortunately, this met with even less success than the first. One of the 30 first stage engines exploded immediately after lift-off, apparently due to ingesting some debris left in the propellant tanks. This led to a cascading series of failures that left the vehicle without power eight seconds into the flight, whereupon it fell back on the pad in a massive explosion.
As with the first test, the launch escape system carried the unmanned Zond-type crew capsule to safety.
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Post by gwiz on Jul 13, 2009 4:19:30 GMT -4
It's 40 years from the launch of Luna 15, Russia's second unmanned lunar sample return mission. This had more success than the first, reaching the moon and manoeuvring into a landing approach orbit. It fired its retro motor for landing on July 22nd, but experienced attitude control problems during the burn which caused it to crash at some 150 m/s.
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Post by gwiz on Jul 15, 2009 9:40:22 GMT -4
With tomorrow being the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, this is perhaps the time to explain my motive in starting this thread and maintaining it over the past years.
HBs claim that the Soviet Union was ahead in the Space Race, so if a manned lunar landing was possible, they should have been the ones to do it. Since they didn't, the US couldn't either, hence Apollo had to be hoaxed. I would hope that a reading of my "40th anniversary" posts to this thread shows that far from the Soviets being ahead, they were plagued by reliability problems that delayed their moon programme. Meanwhile, the US was carrying out a logical series of missions that built up to Apollo 11.
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Post by gwiz on Jul 16, 2009 4:48:56 GMT -4
And if anyone has by chance missed all the other reminders, today is of course the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11.
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Post by seemoe on Jul 17, 2009 4:56:43 GMT -4
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Post by voyager3 on Jul 17, 2009 20:48:16 GMT -4
Sad news tonight that Walter Cronkite has died. Apollo 11 was one of the events he was most famous for covering in his career so it is particularly poignant that his death should occur just before the 40 anniversary. R.I.P. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8157052.stm
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Post by Obviousman on Jul 20, 2009 0:57:51 GMT -4
Just got back from the first of many days events celebrating the Apollo 40th anniversary. The first event today was at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, where the communications dish that received the first TV pictures from Apollo 11 is being decommissioned. The Dish was first at Honeysuckle Creek, and was then moved to the CDSCC in 1981. The current director of the CDSCC speaks. Mike Dinn thanks all present There were some familiar names there, too. At last you can put a face to them: Mike Dinn Bill Wood John Saxon Colin Mackellar
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Post by Ginnie on Jul 20, 2009 12:04:42 GMT -4
Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon while Michael Collins orbited the moon aboard the Command Module. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
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Post by Ginnie on Jul 20, 2009 12:06:04 GMT -4
I'm actually surprised by the lack of TV coverage today. I can't find anything on about the moon landings. Last night Apollo 13 (the movie) was broadcast and the moon hoax Mythbusters episode but little else....
oh, TCM has "Twelve to the Moon" on, a 1960 scifi flick. I see that the astronauts on the moon have spacesuits on - helmets and all - but no visors on them...WTF?
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Post by scooter on Jul 20, 2009 12:16:15 GMT -4
Discovery Channel has the "Shadow of the Moon" going
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vq
Earth
What time is it again?
Posts: 129
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Post by vq on Jul 20, 2009 12:45:26 GMT -4
... Hooah.
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Post by gwiz on Aug 7, 2009 15:16:08 GMT -4
40 years ago today the Russians launched their first fully successful Zond mission. It carried its biological payload, including four tortoises, around the moon and back to a precision-guided earth landing after a seven-day flight. An onboard camera took sequences both of the moon and of earth from deep space.
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Post by gwiz on Sept 14, 2009 16:53:00 GMT -4
A 50th anniversary this time, the first impact of a man made object on the moon. The honour went to the Soviet Union's Luna 2, shortly followed by the final stage of its launch vehicle. Both objects carried scientific instruments to investigate the lunar environment.
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Post by gwiz on Oct 4, 2009 5:33:57 GMT -4
It's 50 years today from the launch of Russia's Luna 3, the first probe to obtain photographs of the far side of the moon. An aspect of the mission only revealed with glasnost was the use of US film in the cameras, as no suitable Russian film was available. The Russians had obtained the film from crashed balloon-borne spy cameras that the US were in the habit of launching across Russia in the days before spy satellites.
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Post by gwiz on Oct 12, 2009 6:25:47 GMT -4
40 years ago the Russians attempted a space spectacular - the docking of two manned spacecraft observed by a third. Soyuz 6, essentially a mission with a two-man crew to test a space welding device, was to be the observer craft. Soyuz 7 with a three-man crew was the target. Soyuz 8, with another two men aboard, was to carry out the docking.
Unfortunately, due to various failures in the rendezvous systems, neither Soyuz 6 or 8 approached Soyuz 7 closer than several hundred meters. Nevertheless, the mission did impressively launch three manned spacecraft in three successive days, setting a new record for the number of people in space at one time, and the Soyuz 6 welding test was a success.
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