The Soviet Manned Space Program

From dust jacket notes: "...In this encyclopedic volume, the result of many years of research into Soviet space activities, Phillip Clark provides an exhaustive analysis of their manned missions from the first flight of Gagarin to current space-station operations. His chronological survey covers the Vostok and Voskhod flights (which included the first woman in space and first spacewalk); Soviet attempts to put a man on the Moon before Apollo; the development of Soyuz; the space stations Salyuts 1 to 5 and their functions, both military and civilian; the combined Apollo/Soyuz mission; the second-generation space stations, Salyuts 6 and 7 and associated ferry vehicles; and the development of Mir, the first modular space station. Consideration is also given to future developments that are destined to culminate in a manned mission to Mars early in the next century. Certainly a new generation of heavy launchers and the soon-to-be-tested Soviet Shuttle seem set to guarantee the USSR even easier access to space, as well as the ability to lift large payloads into orbit that will enable them to establish a large, permanently manned space station. The scientific and industrial rewards of such a station are likely to be immense; the military benefits would also be enormous, and this development is causing concern in American military circles....The Soviet Manned Space Program is illustrated throughout with a fine selection of color and black-and-white photographs, culled from both official Soviet sources and the libraries of Western authorities, while color artwork and diagrams are liberally used to show the structures of all the major spacecraft, mission profiles, launch and retrieval systems, associate space facilities, and so forth. This book offers an unparalleled insight into Soviet manned spaceflight. For its depth of information, even-handed analysis, and quality of illustrations, it is unmatched...."