Episode 9 - First Again
Episode 9 - First Again
In this final episode of this miniseries, we get a sense of the magnitude of the Soviet success in space by going through all of their firsts. It's a long list! Thank you so much for listening to this podcast, and I really hope to hear back from you!
Introduction
This is the story of the space programme of the Soviet Union, told from the perspective of the many firsts that it accomplished. My name is Alex Deva, and I invite you on a journey of nine episodes (plus an introduction) to hear about one of the most fantastic sagas in modern history!
Episode 8 - Setbacks
The Soviets paid a price for all their firsts in space, and there were victims to their secrets on both sides of the Space Race. But if we remember them and talk about them now, we do the right thing. Listen to the story about the Soviets' less fortunate firsts!
Episode 7 - To Venus and Mars
Episode 7 - To Venus and Mars
The Soviets hoped to put a red cosmonaut on the Red Planet, and this may have lost them the race to the Moon. But their unmanned missions to Venus and Mars were astounding successes, especially in light of the limited technology available in the sixties.
Episode 6 - First Woman in Space
Episode 6 - First Woman in Space
In the Soviet Union, everything was different -- even sexism. Sending the first woman to space was a natural fact of Communism, but like everything else in such societies, egalitarianism had a dual, paradoxical nature. Listen to the story of Valentina Tereshkova and other women of the space age!
Episode 5 - First Human in Space
Episode 5 - First Human in Space
Until April 12, 1961, nobody had known what the outer space would do to a human being. Some people thought that it would cause insanity; others, blindness. But the first human ever to go there returned home with only the slight side effect of the confusion caused by his sudden promotion to major. Listen to the story of the first man in space, a Soviet pilot named Yuri Gagarin!
Episode 4 - To the Moon
Episode 4 - To the Moon
There was a time before July 12, 1969 when the race to the Moon was still very much on -- and the Soviets were winning. Listen to the story of how the Soviets lost the Moon race by winning almost every milestone!
Episode 3 - Space Dogs
Episode 3 - Space Dogs
The Americans had sent fruit flies to space, and figuring that insects aren't all that closed to humans, the Soviets reused a Sputnik capsule to experiment with dogs instead. Some lived, some didn't, and the most famous of them was Laika, the first living being on Earth orbit. Listen to their stories in this week's episode!
Subscribe on your favourite podcasting app, here on Facebook, or on YouTube -- just search for "The Soviet Space Saga".
What did you think about this episode? Leave a comment!
Episode 2 - Sputnik
The first thing humanity ever sent to Earth's orbit was a shiny metal sphere with four whiskers, and it rocked the world. It was called Sputnik 1, and it led President Eisenhower to declare that "the Soviets had surpassed America and the rest of the free world in scientific and technological advancements in outer space." The New York Times hailed it as "a major triumph for Russian communism", and it prompted the formation of DARPA, which famously contributed to the creation of the Internet -- as well as to one of the COVID vaccines.
Subscribe on your favourite podcasting app, or on YouTube -- just search for "The Soviet Space Saga".
What did you think about this episode? Leave a comment!
Episode 1 - The Space Race from the Soviet Side
The story of space exploration begins with bombs -- because of course it does. Listen how the Soviets went from appropriating Nazi research to creating the biggest rocket ever made at its time.
Subscribe to the podcast in your favourite app (just search for The Soviet Space Saga). You can also find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRJaHLWZfmoDsqAcPaH6WDw
