Voices of the Soviet Space Program: Cosmonauts, Soldiers, and Engineers Who Took the USSR into Space

by S. Gerovitch

Overview

In this remarkable oral history, Slava Gerovitch presents interviews with the men and women who witnessed Soviet space efforts firsthand. Rather than comprising a "master narrative," these fascinating and varied accounts bring to light the often divergent perspectives, experiences, and institutional cultures that defined the Soviet space program.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349502967
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	12/18/2015
Series:	Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology
Edition description:	1st ed. 2014
Pages:	305
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Slava Gerovitch is Lecturer in History of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Multiple Perspectives on Soviet Space History Part I. The Soldiers Chapter 1. Commanding Officer Abram Krayzman Chapter 2. Construction Engineer Sergey Safro Part II. The Engineers Chapter 3. Engine Designer Anatoliy Daron Chapter 4. Guidance Engineer Sergei Khrushchev Chapter 5. Control Engineer Georgiy Priss Chapter 6. Radio Engineer Felix Meschansky Chapter 7. Display Designer Yuriy Tyapchenko Chapter 8. Computer Designer Viktor Przhiyalkovskiy Part III. The Cosmonauts Chapter 9. 'Cosmonaut 13': Vladimir Shatalov Chapter 10. Test Cosmonaut Mikhail Burdayev Chapter 11. Scientist Cosmonaut Ordinard Kolomiytsev Chapter 12. 'Second Backup': Valentina Ponomareva Chapter 13. Stress Psychiatrist Ada Ordyanskaya

Editorial Reviews

Voices of the Soviet Space Program unites an invaluable collection of individual experiences and personal viewpoints. The impressive successes of the space program did elicit real 'cosmic enthusiasm,' especially among the young but also among the known and unknown participants in the Soviet space program.” (Julia Richers, Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, Vol. 18 (4), 2017)

“Slava Gerovitch … has published a fascinating primary source in Voices of the Soviet Space Program. This book consists of thirteen interviews with cosmonauts, soldiers, and engineers that Gerovitch … conducted from 2002 to 2010 over several oral history projects. … The interviews enable the reader to learn about the beginnings of the Soviet space program … . This is an important contribution to space history, cold war history, the history of the USSR, and the history of technology.” (Paul Josephson, Technology and Culture, Vol. 57, April, 2016)

“Slava Gerovitch … has assembled here a vibrant collection of thirteen interviews that he conducted with Russian space personalities in the U.S. and Russia between 2002 and 2010. … This is all a rare and welcome achievement in the literature. … In sum, this excellent book reveals new facts and insights on the personal, institutional, technical, and political facets of Soviet rocketry and spaceflight policies and practices between the Second World War and the end of the Cold War.” (Michael G. Smith, Slavic Review, Vol. 75 (2), Summer, 2016)

From the Publisher