Russia's Cosmonauts

by Rex D. Hall, Shayler David, and Bert Vis

Published 1 January 2005
There is no competition since this is the first book in the English language on cosmonaut selection and training

Offers a unique and original discussion on how Russia prepares its cosmonauts for spaceflight.

Contains original interviews and photographs with first-hand information obtained by the authors on visits to Star City

Provides an insight to the role of cosmonauts in the global space programme of the future.

Reviews the training both of Russian cosmonauts in other countries and of foreign cosmonauts in Star City


Apollo

by Shayler David

Published 1 June 2002
The structure of Apollo - The Lost and Forgotten Missions follows the development and in flight testing of the Apollo lunar spacecraft prior to Apollo 11 as well as missions planned following that first landing. Drawing upon combinations of archival documentation from the first four manned Apollo missions and future mission plans evolved in the summer of 1969 Apollo - The Lost and Forgotten Missions will fill this void. The text explains how the machines and the men were prepared for the landing on the moon and what would have followed the initial landings.

Aurora 7

by Colin Burgess

Published 15 September 2015

TO A NATION enthralled by the heroic exploits of the Mercury astronauts, the launch of Lt. Cmdr. Scott Carpenter on NASA’s second orbital space flight was a renewed cause for pride, jubilation and celebration. Within hours, that excitement had given way to stunned disbelief and anxiety as shaken broadcasters began preparing the American public for the very real possibility that an American astronaut and his spacecraft may have been lost at sea.

In fact, it had been a very close call. Completely out of fuel and forced to manually guide Aurora 7 through the frightening inferno of re-entry, Carpenter brought the Mercury spacecraft down to a safe splashdown in the ocean. In doing so, he controversially overshot the intended landing zone. Despite his efforts, Carpenter’s performance on the MA-7 mission was later derided by powerful figures within NASA. He would never fly into space again.

Taking temporary leave of NASA, Carpenter participated in the U.S. Navy’s pioneering Sealab program. For a record 30 days he lived and worked aboard a pressurized habitat resting on the floor of the ocean, becoming the nation’s first astronaut/aquanaut explorer.

Following extensive research conducted by noted spaceflight historian Colin Burgess, the drama-filled flight of Aurora 7 is faithfully recounted in this engrossing book, along with the personal recollections of Scott Carpenter and those closest to the actual events.


In Disasters and Accidents in Manned Spaceflight, David Shayler examines the challenges that face all crews as they prepare and execute their missions. The book covers all aspects that make up spaceflight by a human crew - training, launch to space, survival in space and return from space - followed by a series of case histories which tell of the major incidents in each of those categories over the past 40 years. The sixth section looks at the International Space Station and how it is planned, to try and prevent, as far as possible, major incidents occuring during the lifetime of the space station, and at the difficulties facing a settlement on the Moon or Mars during the next 40 years.

Gemini - Steps to the Moon

by Shayler David

Published 1 September 2001
In Gemini - Steps to the Moon, author David Shayler unfolds the story of the origin and development of the programme and the spacecraft from the perspective of the engineers, flight controllers and astronauts involved. It includes chapters on flight tests, Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) and rendezvous and docking.

Interkosmos

by Colin Burgess and Bert Vis

Published 28 November 2015

This book focuses on the Interkosmos program, which was formed in 1967, marking a fundamentally new era of cooperation by socialist countries, led by the Soviet Union, in the study and exploration of space. The chapters shed light on the space program that was at that time a prime outlet for the Soviet Union's aims at becoming a world power.

Interkosmos was a highly publicized Russian space program that rapidly became a significant propaganda tool for the Soviet Union in the waning years of communism. Billed as an international “research-cosmonaut” imperative, it was also a high-profile means of displaying solidarity with the nine participating Eastern bloc countries. Those countries contributed pilots who were trained in Moscow for week-long “guest” missions on orbiting Salyut stations. They did a little subsidiary science and were permitted only the most basic mechanical maneuvers.

In this enthralling new book, and following extensive international research, the authors fully explore the background, accomplishments and political legacy of the Interkosmos program. Through personal and often highly revealing interviews with many of the participants they relate the very human story behind this extraordinary but controversial space venture..



The Rocket Men

by Rex Hall and Shayler David

Published 10 April 2001
In The Rocket Men authors Rex Hall and Dave Shayler review this Soviet demonstration of technological progress from both the developmental and operational aspects which were clouded in secrecy and in direct contrast to the high profile American programme.
As the one-man Mercury spacecraft gave way to the two-man series on the American road to the Moon with Apollo, the multi-crewed Voskhod series which followed the single-seat Vostok was expected to compete with the Gemini programme. By developing the experience and techniques required to send cosmonauts to the Moon the series was planned as a stepping stone to the Soyuz and Zond lunar programmes then under development which would race Apollo to the Moon.