Articles providing an overview or a discussion of a special topic.

• Aelita -- Soviet Expeditions to the Red Planet

• And you though Apollo 13 was bad... -- Astronauts and especially cosmonauts have faced death squarely in the face on several occasions. Here's a few of them...

• Apollo Spacecraft Systems Development Diaries -- Detailed chronologies of development of Apollo spacecraft systems, arranged by system and configuration.....

• Astronaut Statistics -- The right stuff - Who's flown the most hours in space? Who's the fastest man alive?

• Beyond the Vapor Trails -- Don Estabrook's contemporary account of operating the V-2 from White Sands.

• Black Powder Solid Propellants -- The detailed chemistry and development of black powder propellants by Andre Bedard.

• By Gemini to the Moon! -- The Gusmobile might have gotten on the moon faster, quicker, cheaper (but not better...)

• CD-ROM! -- Sorry, no longer available.

• Celebrating Gagarin's Anniversary -- James Oberg remembers Yuri

• China -- A chronology with links to the amazing history or rocket development in China.

• Chinese Manned Space Program: Behind Closed Doors -- Ed Grondine's account of China's 'Long March' to an independent manned space capability.

• CIA's National Intelligence Estimate of March 1967 -- What did the US know about Soviet lunar plans? This annotated version of the CIA's National Intelligence Estimate of March 1967 compares what the CIA expected to happen with what the Soviets expected at the same time...

• Composite Solid Propellants -- The detailed chemistry and development of composite solid propellants by Andre Bedard.

• Conditions of Use -- Obtaining permission for use of materials from astronautix.com

• Contacting Astronauts and Cosmonauts -- Leads on getting in touch with astronauts.

• Data Downloads! -- Dietrich Haeseler has made his Russian Engine Data Table available for download!

• Double Base Solid Propellants -- The detailed chemistry and development of double base propellants by Andre Bedard.

• Energia - The Decision -- Summary of the meeting of the Soviet Military-Industrial Commission on 13 August 1974 - in which the fate of the N1 was sealed and the decision process leading to Energia-Buran was begun...

• Energia! -- Out of date article on development of Energia launch vehicle (ca. 1988).

• Engine Specifications - Definition of Terms -- What do all those technical terms mean?

• Frequently Asked Questions --

• Giant UFO Over Two Continents -- James Oberg's classic piece, reissued on the 20th anniversary of the Soviet rocket launch that sparked UFO panics in Russia and South America

• If the Sun Dies -- Ray Bradbury's peroration to spaceflight as recounted by Oriana Fallaci.

• Inside Baikonur -- James Oberg's account of a visit to the long-secret Baikonur cosmodrome.

• Korolev, Chelomei, and Glushko - A Work In Progress -- Unfinished story on the struggle between the Russian chief desingers.

• Links -- Coming soon...

• Lunex --

  In May 1961, just as Kennedy had decided that NASA should put an American on the moon, the US Air Force released a secret report, summarising the result of years of planning to place a military base on the moon by 1967. Follow the links below for the complete text of the report.

  • My observations
  • Transmittal Letter
  • I. Summary
  • II. Program Description
  • III. Master Schedules
  • IV. Development - Test - Production
  • V. Budget And Financial
  • VI. Program Management
  • VII. Materiel Support
  • VIII. Civil Engineering
  • IX. Personnel And Training
  • X. Intelligence (what the USAF thought the Russians were up to in 1961!
  • Appendix #1 Glossary Of Terms

• Lunex - Chapter 1 --

• Lunex - Chapter 2 --

• Lunex - Chapter 3 --

• Lunex - Chapter 4 --

• Lunex - Chapter 5 --

• Many Thanks! -- Contributors and acknowledgements.

• Max Faget: Master Builder -- James Oberg's tribute to the 'American Korolev'...

• Military Struggle for Space -- Coming soon...

• PHANTOMS OF SPACE - Part 1 -- James Oberg's classic debunking of all those 'dead cosmonaut' stories.

• PHANTOMS OF SPACE - Part 2 -- James Oberg's classic debunking of all those 'dead cosmonaut' stories.

• Project Horizon - Chapter 1 -- The project summary of the US Army's 1959 plan to place a military base on the moon by 1965!

• Project Horizon - Chapter 2 -- This is the best part, with all the pictures - the project summary of the US Army's 1959 plan to place a military base on the moon by 1965!

• Project Horizon - Chapter 3 -- The project summary of the US Army's 1959 plan to place a military base on the moon by 1965!

• Project Orion: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth -- 20,000 tonne Mars Expeditions Using Atom Bomb Propulsion - We could have sent whole cities there by 1970 - the classic web article, by Michael Flora

• Recommended -- Books that should be on your bookshelf...

• References -- Alphabetical list of works referred to throughout the site.

• Robot Planetary Explorers -- The conquest of the solar system - by robots that serve as extensions of our senses in hostile environments....

• Russia's Space Program: Running On Empty - Part 1 -- James Oberg's grim account of the fate of the Russian space program

• Russia's Space Program: Running On Empty - Part 2 -- Part 2 of James Oberg's grim account of the fate of the Russian space program

• Russian Spacecraft Locations -- Where you can see flown and unflown Russian manned spacecraft...

• Search -- Search the Encyclpedia Astronautica...

• Skylab's Untimely Fate -- James Oberg tells the sad story of how the United States abandoned the largest space station ever built and spent a quarter century trying to regain the capability.

• So You Want to Be An Astronaut? - Best Cities to Be From! -- Some cities seem to produce more astronauts than there share...

• Solid Propellant Tables -- Solid propellant tables by Andre Bedard.

• Soviet Conquest from Space -- The story of Soviet space stations in Earth orbit - Korolev's star wars of 1963!

• Soviet Manned Lunar Projects Part 1 -- The failed Soviet lunar program, and the follow-on lunar base projects that came to nothing.

• Soviet Manned Lunar Projects Part 2 -- The failed Soviet lunar program, and the follow-on lunar base projects that came to nothing.

• Soviet Mars Propulsion - Nuclear Electric --

• Soviet Mars Propulsion - Nuclear Thermal --

• Soviet Space History -- The previously unrevealed history of the Soviet space program...

• Soviet Space History - Era of the Chief Designers --

• Soviet Space History - Generation 1 --

• Soviet Space History - Generation 2 --

• Soviet Space History - Generation 3 --

• Soviet Space History at a Glance --

• Soviet Space Quality Assurance --

• Soviet Space Secrets -- James Oberg lists those secrets remaining to be disclosed...

• Soviet Space System Development Process --

• Soviet Space Tracking Systems --

• SOYUZ! -- Out-of-date article -the development of the Soyuz spacecraft, as known in 1987.

• The Foundations of the Space Age -- The life and work of Tsiolkovskiy, by Vladimir V. Lytkin, Tsiolkovskiy Museum, Kaluga.

• The Moon Race -- Side-by-side chronology of the major events of the race to the moon.

• The N1 Story - Part 1 -- Completely updated! The largest, most expensive, failed project in history - the story of the design, construction, and collapse of the immense N1 Soviet super booster.

• The N1 Story - Part 2 -- Completely updated! Part 2 of the story of the design, construction, and collapse of the immense N1 Soviet super booster.

• The Nedelin Catastrophe -- James Oberg's classic account of the greatest disaster in space history.

• The Wrong Stuff - A Catalogue of Launch Vehicle Failures -- The hard road to space...

• This Day in Space History -- Find out what happened on this day in space history...

• Trouble In Star City -- James Oberg's prescient account of the beginning of the end - or the end of the beginning - of the Soviet space industry

• Was the Soyuz Design Stolen? -- There was something awfully familiar looking about the Soyuz spacecraft, the most successful in history....

• What's New -- What's new on the site...

• Women of Space -- Links to the biographies of female conquerors of space!

• Women of Space - Those That Have Trained for Spaceflight But Not Flown -- Those women who aspired to the stars but did or have not get there.

• Your Flight Has Been Cancelled.... -- Is what might have been better than what was?