Volume 1: Dawn of the Space Age
Pioneers and visionaries 1900-1960
The race to the Moon. It began with a handful of visionary thinkers… It took its first great leap forward during World War 2 with the Nazi’s V-2 rocket…it gained momentum during the Cold War as America and the Soviet Union began to see the military value of launching big rockets… and it started in earnest in October 1957, when the USSR launched an 86-pound aluminium ball named Sputnik 1 into orbit.
The story of the early space race is one of immense vision, ruthless determination and political opportunism; a story driven on by the clash of three opposing ideologies; a story crowned by the personal achievements of two men – the Russian Sergei Korolev and the German Wernher von Braun. Discover how the Soviet Union stole an early lead in the race and the true reason behind President Eisenhower’s embarrassment. Read about the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring that led to the formation of NASA and the beginnings of Apollo. Come with us on a journey in which surprises lurk around every corner as we begin Race for Space: the race to the Moon.
PLUS audio/video in the digital edition:
The story of the early space race is one of immense vision, ruthless determination and political opportunism; a story driven on by the clash of three opposing ideologies; a story crowned by the personal achievements of two men – the Russian Sergei Korolev and the German Wernher von Braun. Discover how the Soviet Union stole an early lead in the race and the true reason behind President Eisenhower’s embarrassment. Read about the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring that led to the formation of NASA and the beginnings of Apollo. Come with us on a journey in which surprises lurk around every corner as we begin Race for Space: the race to the Moon.
PLUS audio/video in the digital edition:
• Robert Goddard’s early tests
• Willy Ley and Wernher von Braun reminisce
• Robert Goddard at White Sands
• The origins of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Testing the A-4 rocket at Peenemünde
• The V-2 goes to war
• Testing a U.S.-built V-2 at White Sands
• Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier
• Testing a Soviet-built R-1/V-2
• Testing the R-7 “Semyorka” ICBM
• Testing the U.S. Army’s Redstone missile
• A Redstone launch from Cape Canaveral
• The launch of Sputnik 1
• America’s reaction to Sputnik
• The U.S. Navy’s Vanguard rocket explodes
• The 1960 Nedelin disaster
• Willy Ley and Wernher von Braun reminisce
• Robert Goddard at White Sands
• The origins of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Testing the A-4 rocket at Peenemünde
• The V-2 goes to war
• Testing a U.S.-built V-2 at White Sands
• Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier
• Testing a Soviet-built R-1/V-2
• Testing the R-7 “Semyorka” ICBM
• Testing the U.S. Army’s Redstone missile
• A Redstone launch from Cape Canaveral
• The launch of Sputnik 1
• America’s reaction to Sputnik
• The U.S. Navy’s Vanguard rocket explodes
• The 1960 Nedelin disaster
