The Greatest Adventure

by Colin Burgess

Published 12 July 2021
The space race was perhaps the greatest technological contest of the 20th century. It was a thrilling era of innovation, discovery and exploration, as astronauts and cosmonauts were launched on space missions of increasing length, complexity and danger.
The Greatest Adventure traces the events of this extraordinary period, describing the initial string of Soviet achievements: the first satellite in orbit; the first animal, man and woman in space; the first spacewalk; as well as the ultimate US victory in the race to land on the moon.
The book then takes the reader on a journey through the following decades of space exploration to the present time, detailing the many successes, tragedies, risks and rewards of space exploration.

Soviets in Space

by Colin Burgess

Published 11 July 2022
In this deeply researched chronology, Colin Burgess describes the Soviet Union’s extraordinary success in the pioneering years of space exploration. Within a decade the Soviets not only launched the world’s first satellite, but were the first to send an animal and a human being into Earth orbit. More than that, their ground-breaking missions sent a woman into space, launched a three-man spacecraft and included the first person to walk in space.
Six decades on from the historic spaceflight of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Burgess guides us through the amazing achievements of Russia’s spaceflight programme through to the present day, introducing the men and women who have flown the missions as we seek to delve ever deeper into the wonders and complexities of the cosmos.