Actually, Soyuz holds three... a really really cramped three...

That is sad, but in defense, they did sink a lot of time and expense into geology training for the guys that did go. And it paid off with discoveries like the genesis rock, sample selections, photographs and observations.

True, but I believe they've made multiple replicas. The one we had was fabricated to stand vertically using openings in the bottom of the feet and metal posts in the display case. That way you could do a 360 degree walk around. If it is, as you say the real Lyuba in the photo, I find their non-chalance about its state…

I just realized another possibility. They probably used the recreation for the photo-op, but the actual Lyuba well end up on display. This would be a good option to provide good PR and still protect the specimen.

Not to be mean, but are we sure this is the actual Lyuba? The museum I work for hosted this exhibit a short while ago, and they had an excellent (and very fragile) replica made by laser scanning the original. The real Lyuba was an option, but increased the lease fee enormously and required a massive refrigerated…

The eighties vibe was really well executed, and perfect for the lyrics! It was the decade of cocaine fueled insanity after all... Though that bite on the giant gummy bear's ear really turned my stomach for some reason...

Nice piece! Could have included a mention of the R-7/Semyorka missile these started as. Much like the first American human spaceflight launch vehicles, all the early stuff was based on weapons platforms! The launch vehicle that hucked Sputnik into orbit was also from the same family of vehicles.

I can understand that reaction to Lanius. I live and work in Huntsville, and of course, we're very pro von Braun. I try to advocate for others when talking about rocket history in general. Everyone here knows von Braun, but no-one knows Tsiolkovsky or well, anyone that's not a Paperclipper or an associated American.…

I got to looking at that... I wonder if they didn't do a variant design for the Jupiter missile... a much larger diameter than a Redstone!

You make a good point about Becker, though I think saying VfR was amateurish is a bit harsh... liquid propulsion was so new at the time, and Goddard and the VfR weren't exactly pen pals. The German army definitely saw the potential in von Braun as a highly intelligent and charismatic technical manager, but I think…

Agreed! Von Braun was a talented engineer, but a genius project manager. Though he had to be talented to understand and orchestrate the complexities of the Saturn program. I'm not sure he was envious of the Air Force though, I think he liked the fact that he was growing his own boosters. I think he saw it as a logical…

Agreed! MR-1 was the guilty party on causing Shepard to fall behind Gagarin to first in space. Von Braun and team decided they needed the additional primate flight as a result of the MR-1 failure (though they got good telemetry from the LES deployment though). The Atlas was indeed a more sophisticated launch vehicle,…

Why miniaturize! This would be fun to pilot by hand and smash drones! Higher point value for smaller drones!

@Vincze Miklós

Yep... saw that also. And their first gen rockets were based on V-2's... If the idea ain't broke, don't fix it!

I think he was being sarcastic... *I'm confused*

MUSTARD is a new one on me! Nicely done! And you have a point w/ the Sanger. But shhhh... you'll get the "it's all Nazi space science" crowd all riled up again!

That doesn't make sense... serious development for the shuttle started in the late 1960's... and lifting body research in the US was taking place starting from the late 50's. Physics drives the designs, so they're bound to be similarities a s a result.

I think it looks more like an early Kliper design, with no wings.

The two OMS are used for a short burst after liftoff, but otherwise OMS & RCS are used only during orbital insertion, on orbit operations, de-orbit burn and reentry.