Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Angus on January 23, 2005, 03:20:23 PM
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I plonk this one on Boroda, because I am sure he can answer it quickly, and probably from memory.
Ok, forgive my ignorance.
I ask this because I am so frustrated with people who think there was only one landing on the moon, and that it was a fake.
As far as I remember, the USSR sent probes around the moon, sent probes to the moon, and the dark side as well, in some cases (or all?) beating the US to it.
But didn't the USSR also land people on the moon, and in more than one case?
It was a close race as far as I remember, but I was just a toddler at the time, so please help :)
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in their dreams they did.
or ...f it really happened, I'm sure they're still there....
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the russians never intended to put anyone on the moon, the "race to the moon" was a devirsion to make the USA drop it's plans for a space station and use all it's resources to go to the moon so russia could catch up with it's own space station.
and it worked, the moon landings were a total waste.
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USSR have sent the first probe to the Moon in 1959, Luna-2.
First photos of the dark side - Luna-3, also 1959.
First soft-landing on the Moon and TV transmittion from the surface - Luna-9, 1966.
First artificial sattelite of the Moon - Luna-10, 1966.
First return to Earth at escape-velosity after orbiting Moon - Zond-5, 1968.
Zond probes were in fact Soviet Moon programm returnable capsules, flew unmanned, had some animals aboard.
At the same time, 1968, the landing module, L-1, was ready. Powerfull launch vehicle was the main problem. Proton was extremely unreliable at that time, and uses toxic fuel components (UDMH). N-1 launch vehicle was still too "raw". Because of some strange kind of competition between R&D firms - main engines were developed by Kuznetsov design bureau, that had no experience in liquid-fueled rocket engines. The N-1 programm was finally abandoned in mid-70s. Launch site was used later for Energiya/Buran.
Soviet Moon spaceship (L-1) had a crew of 2 men, orbital module pilot and lander pilot. A whole team of cosmonauts was trained for Moon mission, including Alexey Leonov, the first man to go out of spaceship to outer space, later- an Appolo-Soyuz mission participant. I have some interesting documental films about that programm, showing cosmonaut's trainings and different tests.
In Soviet times there was absolutely no information availible to public about Soviet Moon programm, first things appeared in early-90s.
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I was first to shoot a Soviet freighter the moon leaving Port Said 1964....:rofl
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I knew you'd know it!
Thank you very much.
I did some digging. There are some "Luna" projects listed as retuned. So they returned to earth after orbiting the moon?
Anyway, thanks again.
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Luna-15 was the first attempt to land and return with lunar soil sample. It was launched on July, 13th, 1969, isn't it interesting? ;) First attempt failed. I am on slow dialup now, so I just quote Grand Soviet Encylopedia, there it's listed as "dropped to lunar surface in designated region"...
Luna-16 brought back soil samples in September, 1970.
Luna-17 brought "Lunohod-1" to the Moon, a wheeled probe like "Spirit" and "opportunity", November 1970.
Luna-18 - crash-landed on continetal part of Moon, in the mountain region. Sept. 1971.
Luna-20 finally landed in the mountains and brought back samples. USSR could afford to lose several unmanned probes to bring back samples from the region, unreachable for Apollo landers. Feb. 1972.
Luna-21 delivered Lunohod-2 to the surface, Jan. 1973.
Last Luna station was Luna-26 IIRC. The encycolpedia volume I quote was printed in 1974.
So - there were several probes that returned after landing on the Moon.
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poor Lajka came on my mind ;)
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Really really nice and interesting info.
Thanks again!!
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Thank you, Borada, for all the nice information
:)
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NP :)
I only forgot to say that official propaganda said that we never had a manned Moon programm, because automats were cheaper and there was no risk for human lives...
Lada, Lajka was an experienced pilot, she made several flights on "geophisical" rockets, IIRC over 100km high, so I think she volunteered ;) Here "Lajka" is now only a brand of cheap cigarettes, I don't even know if they still make them... True heroes were Belka and Strelka, who travelled on Vostok prototype and came back safely in 1960.
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lol cool i didnt know about others :D
But at elementary school Lajka were supposed to be a hero :D
[lol never knew that Lajka was she not he]
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I have what seems to be a very good book on the Russian manned space program, called, The Soviet Manned Space Program, Phillip Clark, 1988 ISBN051756954X.
It gives 9 launches in the Zond program and 7 in the Cosmos program.
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the soviets also landed on venus.
(http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0311/venus_venera13.jpg)
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wtf does that represent?
what are those triangles?
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Originally posted by spitfiremkv
wtf does that represent?
what are those triangles?
Those are road spikes so that Americans can get flat tires on their rover.
:aok
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Originally posted by JB88
the soviets also landed on venus.
(http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0311/venus_venera13.jpg)
Yeah, we did her ! :D