Space Rocket History Podcast

Scientists had long been intrigued by Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury remained largely unexplored, with many questions remaining about its surface features, geological composition,

Pioneer 11 detected Saturn’s bow shock on Aug. 31, 1979, about 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) out from the planet, thus providing the first conclusive evidence of the existence of Saturn’s magnetic field.

This second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz 7k-T was flown on Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 missions from 1973–1981. The new 7K-T spacecraft was designed to accommodate only two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suits at all times … Continue...

At this point in 1973, the Soviets were attempting to fly 2 types of space station, the long duration orbital station scientific version called DOS.  The other station was a military spy space station equipped with a machine gun,

Despite predictions, events seldom occur precisely as expected. The calculated breakup altitude of Skylab was based on its intended structural strength specifications. However, the actual vehicle was stronger than the specified strength requirements.