The UN, at the request of Russia, has declared April 12 as the Day of Human Spaceflight, this date being the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gargarin's flight, the first manned flight into space. I grew up during the height of the Cold War, and the only thing I have in common with the UN is that neither of us pay our parking tickets, but the history of Russian space exploration is really fascinating, particularly given the Russian's typical lack of in-depth concern over things like safety and not getting people killed. The US manned spaceflight program is essentially finished, which means the fate of the International Space Station is largely in their hands, and missions like the Hubble repairs and renovation aren't likely to occur anymore. Unmanned spacecraft are undoubtable more cost-effective and pose no risk to life, but they just don't fill the human need for exploration, adventure and daring.
Very possibly the coolest thing Gargarin did, besides that rocket thing, is having the crew bus stop on the way to the spacecraft, so he could get out, where he peed on a wheel. I understand that every Russian crewmember since has stopped for the ceremonial pee, including international flight crew members shuttling to the MIR station and ISS on Russian flights.
And check out the satellite fire imagery, it's getting close to spring fire season.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments?