No. 10, Oct. 1996
Content
|
Editors Note Due to the volume of good information on the FPSPACE listserv the need for the Guide has dropped, hence the several month hiatus in issues. Now the items have piled up and the time has come for another issue. If you have any info you want to post to this web page in the future just email me at issguide@home.com Also, for those of you still reading this in print this is the last issue to be distributed on paper. All issues in the future will be posted to the Russian Aerospace Guide web page at http://home.attbi.com/~rusaerog/ |
News
An end to the Red Mercury story?
A book by Ministry of Internal Affairs investigative committee head Gen. Aleksandr Gurov is called "The Secrets of Red Mercury". Published in 1995, the book summarizes the investigation of 1990's claims of the mysterious substance called Red Mercury which supposedly can be used in nuclear weapons. The book claims the rumors were instigated by swindlers and people wishing to harm the nuclear industry.
If you want to keep up with the NASA-Mir missions keep an eye on these web sites. They are routinely updated with news and special items (like letters from Shannon Lucid while in flight).
The Russian magazine Aerospace Journal gives consistent coverage of aerospace topics in a well made package. There are 6 issues a year filled with articles written mostly by the industry itself. There is little content about current events but there is a lot about future projects and hardware. Understandably the articles are mostly sales tools, but there is a wealth of information that will be of interest. It also features full translation into Russian of each article in the second half of the magazine. Subscriptions are $90/year. There is also a sister publication, Military Parade. To get info on these contact ZigZag Publishing Group, Olympic Tower East, 645 Fifth Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10022. Ph: 212-725-6700, FAX: 212-725-6915, email: zzventure@aol.com of look at http://www.maestro.com/ing/zig/rol.htm
For Mir mission patches, including original Mir-22 patches with the grounded crew (cost $9 + shipping) contact: Spaceview, P.O. Box 59720, 1040 LE, Amsterdam, Holland
The Smithsonian Press plans to publish a translation of "Tupolevs Special Prison". Also a biography of Aleksandr Yakovlev is expected sometime in the future.
Saunders Kramer made the following observations late last year (my apologies for the delay in posting this).
"Interesting process ongoing with Cosmos 2305 and Cosmos 2320 (l.o.12-29-94 and 9-29-95 respectively). Both of these birds are taking photos of same area and/or particular "targets" at times that are 6 hours 6 min. apart. They both cross equator at ascending node that is less than one (1) degree apart constantly and the inclination difference is 0.03 degrees. Hence they are traversing almost identical paths. Ideal for stereo photography. I have tracked over 20 orbits on October 20 and 21. These are both very long interval (i.e.,over 200 days in- tended - C.2305 way over that now). Both use digital imagery. Orbit parameters ; Ha, Hp, incl. and period are very close."
Russian Aerospace Guide Web Page
The Russian Aerospace Guide web page contains a archive of all past Guides, and all Cosmonautics News columns from Quest/Countdown magazine. Several people have also sent material to be posted including Asif Siddiqi's list of Mir flights, Mike Mackowski's Soyuz variant drawings, and Sergey Voevodin's cosmonaut lists. Keep those files coming and I'll put them on the page. http://home.attbi.com/~rusaerog/
There are a few items on the Quest page that will interest readers. As well as an index to all past issues of Quest and Countdown magazine there is also a section of sale items including a declassified photo of the 2 N-1 launch pads after the 1969 pad explosion. There is a low resolution scan of the photo on the page itself so you can see what it looks like. The address is http://home.attbi.com/~rusaerog/quest/quest.html
"The Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995", Bill Gunston, Motorbooks International, Osceola WI, 1995, ISBN 0-7603-0027-5, 526 pages.
Currently this is the definitive work on Russian and Soviet aircraft and successor to 1983's "Aircraft of the Soviet Union". The introduction is background on aviation engines, organizations, designations, materials, avionics and weapons and is beyond the scope of most other books but for the Encyclopedia are just warm up material. The first section of the text covers pre-revolutionary aircraft followed by the bulk of book on post revolutionary planes. The Addendum covers Ekranoplans and late additions to the book.
As much as possible the book has consistent descriptions of design studies, aircraft, and the many variants of aircraft. The Encyclopedia is a excellent reference and resource for critical information, but there is little history behind the aircraft to explain how they came about. To cram in as much data as possible abbreviations are used throughout and condensed verbiage makes for high information density and there is very little duplication of information, for example in describing different variants no words are wasted repeating specifications that are common. The author also wastes no time with speculation leaving very visible holes in the text where there was simply no more information available at publication time. The book is very well illustrated with many line drawings and black and white photographs, many of very unique and rare aircraft.
The book shows glaringly how much historical work remains to be done in recording the development of aviation in Russia and comparing it to other nations. For anyone interested in aircraft this book is required reference to aid in understanding aviation technology and its development. It is unlikely that it will be bettered anytime soon and possibly never in print.
***
"OKB SUKHOI", Vladimir Antonov, Yefim Gordon, Nikolai Gordyukov, Vladimir Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Zenkin, Midland Pub., Leicester England, 1996, ISBN 1-85780-0125, 296 pages.
Anyone familiar with the 1991 "OKB MiG" book by Butowski & Miller will recognize the similarity with "OKB SUKHOI". The books are very similar in content and appearance. It is well illustrated with drawings and photos (mostly black and white but with a few color) throughout. Its sections cover designers, piston engine, jet engine aircraft, swing wing, attack, reconnaissance aircraft, the SU-27/35, aerobatic, commercial aircraft and future projects.
The first 75 pages or so cover designs through WWII and into the early jet age. The next 120 pages cover everything up to the SU-27. The rest covers the latest aircraft and future plans of Sukhoi. Each major type of aircraft is described in detail and there is lot more text describing the development process and design than you will find in "The Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft" described above. In addition, many experimental and other variants are documented along with weapons systems and weapons carried. An Appendix contains very brief information on test pilots and weapons types.
There are several large tables of specifications and performance data for the major types of aircraft throughout the book. For those who want to understand the development process and history of these aircraft in detail this book is a must have.
Special Note
For a limited time I can offer copies of the Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight for $9.95* (plus shipping), *$5.00 each for more than 2 copies (US Check or Money order)
The Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight is the only single chronological reference of all Soviet manned and unmanned test flights.
All flights from 1960 to 1990 are covered in detail. Each mission is tagged with a spacecraft or space station configuration diagram for easy reference. Space station operations, instruments and experiments run and daily routine are detailed, as are launch and landing times and orbital parameters. 391 pages long, indexed, illustrated, and referenced with sources most readily available in the USA. For info email: issguide@home.com
Contributers
Saunders Kramer
Gaithersburg, MD
Contributions
The objective of the Guide is to put professional and amateur Russian aerospace researchers and writers in touch with each other and the wide array of atypical information sources available about past and present events. As researchers uncover sources they can make the source known to the rest of the community and are credited with providing the info. If you find a good book, or an article about Russian aerospace outside the main stream US space press (Space News, Aviation Week, Final Frontier, Air & Space, etc.) write up a brief description of the item and send it to the Guide. If you are looking for specific information send in your questions to be listed to other researchers. Please include contact information, if specified the contact info will be withheld. Please send news releases, abstracts of articles, new or noteworthy old book reviews, interviews, conference reports, news and other information related to the study of USSR and Russian aerospace and related cold war, military and political events you wish to be listed to:
Email: issguide@home.com
Submissions via e-mail encouraged. Mail submissions should be on 3.5 inch diskette DOS or Mac format. Text should be in plain ASCII format and graphics should be in GIF, EPSF, TIFF or PICT format. Only as a last resort send hard copies or xerox's.
|
This page is maintained by : issguide@home.com |
|
