The Soviet Space Program: First Steps: 1941-1953

by Eberhard Rödel

Overview

This concise history is the first book in a new series on the Soviet space program and features many rare photographs, diagrams, and charts. When Soviet rocket experts examined the first Nazi V-2s in early 1945, they immediately realized that their own technology was years behind what the Germans had developed. The dropping of the two American atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 made the path forward clear: the development of a Soviet atomic bomb, and a suitable missile to carry it. This story begins with the Soviet’s pre- and early war developments in rocket technology, then covers the discovery and study of the V-2s at Peenemünde, Germany. The Soviets assembled remaining V-2 rockets from existing parts and their mode of operation was studied. Developments in the Soviet R and G series missiles in the early 1950s are discussed in detail, as is the development for the peaceful use of Soviet rocket technology in space.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764355394
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	07/28/2018
Series:	The Soviets in Space Series , #1
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Eberhard Rödel is a specialist in the history of Russian spaceflight. He maintains good contacts in the Russian spaceflight scene.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

The War Begins 8

An Answer with Serious Consequences 10

Katyusha 11

Launch Site Heidelager 13

Chertok in Berlin and Peenemünde 16

The Victors: An Initial Balance 26

Germany's Economic and Scientific Situation in 1945 27

The Rabe Institute and Others 30

Order from the Council of Ministers 39

Departure and the End 47

Kapustin Yar 51

Gorodomlya 60

The R-1 and G-1 Missiles 64

The R-2 Missile 87

The G-2, G-3, G-4, and G-5 Missiles 99

Gorodomlya Once Again 103

The R-3 Missile 106

Nuclear Weapons and Missiles 110

Appendices 116