1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910787162803321

Autore

Smith Michael G. <1960->

Titolo

Rockets and revolution : a cultural history of early spaceflight / / Michael G. Smith

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Lincoln, Nebraska ; ; London : , : University of Nebraska Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-8032-8654-6

0-8032-8656-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (785 p.)

Classificazione

HIS037070HIS036060HIS032000

Disciplina

629.4/10904

Soggetti

Astronautics - History

Astronautics and state

Astronautics - Social aspects

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

""Cover""; ""Title Page""; ""Copyright Page""; ""Dedication""; ""Contents""; ""List of Illustrations""; ""List of Tables""; ""Introduction""; ""Part 1.""; ""1. Envisioning the Biological Universe""; ""2. Mystical Economies of Earth and Space""; ""3. The Mechanics of Interplanetary Travel""; ""Part 2.""; ""4. Lyrical Cosmism of the Russian Revolution""; ""5. The Pioneers and the Spaceflight Imperative""; ""6. Rocket Spaceships as Science Fictions""; ""7. The Origins and Ends of Life on Earth""; ""Part 3.""; ""8. The First Foundations of Astronautics""; ""9. A Race into the Stratosphere""

""10. Stalinism and the Genesis of Cosmonautics""""Conclusion""; ""Notes""; ""Selected Bibliography""; ""Index""; ""About Michael G. Smith""

Sommario/riassunto

"Rockets and Revolution offers a multifaceted study of the race toward space in the first half of the twentieth century, examining how the Russian, European, and American pioneers competed against one another in the early years to acquire the fundamentals of rocket science, engineer simple rockets, and ultimately prepare the path for human spaceflight. Between 1903 and 1953, Russia matured in radical and dramatic ways as the tensions and expectations of the Russian



revolution drew it both westward and spaceward. European and American industrial capacities became the models to imitate and to surpass. The burden was always on Soviet Russia to catch up--enough to achieve a number of remarkable "firsts" in these years, from the first national rocket society to the first comprehensive surveys of spaceflight. Russia rose to the challenges of its Western rivals time and again, transcending the arenas of science and technology and adapting rocket science to popular culture, science fiction, political ideology, and military programs.  While that race seemed well on its way to achieving the goal of space travel and exploring life on other planets, during the second half of the twentieth century these scientific advances turned back on humankind with the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile and the coming of the Cold War"--