Main: The Space Programme

Music from space – and a special documentary on the Apollo 11 mission.


42 years ago this week, human beings first set foot upon the Moon – something that, when you think about it, is quite remarkable: that in the days before even digital watches, let alone powerful desktop computers, people could do something that, perhaps, we can no longer do today. This week we also commemorate the achievements, and the challenges, of the Space Shuttle programme that also came to an end this week with the final Shuttle landing in California.


The Apollo 11 mission was launched on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon. Later, they successfully returned – fulfilling President John F Kennedy's 1961 speech which included the words,
"...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
Today's programme commemorates this momentous event. In addition to an eclectic collection of music from, and about, space, space travel, the Moon and more, we include Moonwalk! – a special radio documentary on the Apollo 11 mission based on actuality, painstakingly recorded from the broadcast coverage of the time, and woven into a story of the mission with appropriate, and equally eclectic, music of the period, including as it does everything from the Moody Blues to the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Holst and even Ron Goodwin. Listen on headphones for the best experience.


Moonwalk! will be broadcast at 3am, 1pm, 4pm and 10pm Pacific Time.


It can be argued that we would not have the environmental consciousness we have today were it not for our view of the Earth from space afforded initially by Apollo 8 and then by later missions. Arguably, space research is important not for what we get out of it directly in terms of products like Teflon, Velcro and manufacturing ability, or for some kind of nationalistic superiority, but for the perspective and knowledge it gives us of our own planet and the Universe around us. In addition it is, perhaps, simply something we should do.


Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by thap gump in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in


For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.
Moonwalk! was created by Pyramedia Productions in 1971.
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The first cosmonaut

There has been a lot of speculation about whether the USSR attempted to send a cosmonaut into space before Yuri Gagarin. Most of the discussion has been within the realm of the conspiracy theorist and quite honestly, the supporting evidence is pretty thin… until now that is.



 model of a Vostok era cosmonaut

A new book published today reveals that there was in fact one partly successful space flight prior to Gagarin but the cosmonaut was so badly injured that Nikita Kruschev himself ordered the suppression of all records pertaining to the flight.


Ivan Ivanovich Maketov was born in Begemodsk, near Moscow, in 1923. Commissioned into the Red Air Force in 1941 he served with distinction and it was his exemplary war record that landed him a position as a test pilot for the Mikoyan Gurevitch design bureau.

In 1958 Maketov was one of six Air Force officers selected for cosmonaut training. Maketov was considered the most able candidate, better even than Gagarin and so it was no surprise whent he was selected for the first Vostok flight in March 1961.

Vostok 1 was launched on 9 March. Maketov made three successful orbits of the earth before returning to earth. During re entry, an electrc malfunction caused a fire in the capsule burning Maketov severely. Despite this he was able to bail out of the capsule but landed badly breaking his back, hip and legs.



An injured Matekov after bailing out of Vostok 1


Because of his injuries it was decided that a severely injured cosmonaut would not present the Soviet Union’ in the best light. All information about Maketov’s was suppressed. On 12 April Gagarin made his historic flight. His vessel was originally designated Vostok 2 but was renamed Vostok 1 as part of the cover up.




Maketov after reconstructive surgery

Maketov, spent two years undergoing rehabilitation after the incident but was unable to make a full recovery. Despite numerous reconstructive operations his face remained severely disigured. In 1963 he was granted a pension and flat in Sochi where he lived until his death in 1988.

The First Cosmonaut was written by scientist and aviation historian Matyob Govnovsky.. He had been was granted unprecedented access to the Soviet spacet archives. Even so he was shocked to discover several files on Maketov.

“There has been a lot of speculation about failed missions before Gagarin”, he said “It was a genuine shock to discover that the speculations were actually based in fact”.

Govnovsky has already petitioned the Russian government to erect a memorial to Maketov. “Gagarin was a true hero but so was Maketov. It would take nothing away from Gagarin’s achievement to erect a memorial to another true hero of space,” he said.







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The Great Gagarin cover up

Today’s Telegraph carried an article titled Soviet Union lied about 1961 Yuri Gagarin space mission

Ach here comes the great “Gagarin space flight hoax,” I thought. Given that a lot of people do not believe that there was ever a Moon landing, why not deny the first manned space mission.

Well it isn’t quite like that:

Apparently Soviet officials and covered up the fact that he had landed more than 200 miles away from where they were expecting him… according to a new book.

The book 108 Minutes That Changed the World apparently reveals revealed that scientists twice miscalculated where he would land which is why there was nobody there to meet him when he finally touched down some 500 miles south of Moscow.

The Soviets also lied about the manner of his landing, claiming that he had touched down inside the capsule itself when in actual fact he landed separately via parachute. The reason they lied, said the book, was to skirt strict rules that would have prevented them from officially registering the flight as a world record.

Is that it? It must be a slow news day…Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/space
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