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The Soyuz Launch Vehicle: The Two Lives of an Engineering Triumph 2013th Edition
Author(s): Christian Lardier (Author), Stefan Barensky (Author)
- Publisher: Springer
- Publication Date: 12 Mar. 2013
- Edition: 2013th
- Language: English
- Print length: 512 pages
- ISBN-10: 1461454581
- ISBN-13: 9781461454588
Book Description
This remarkable book gives a complete and accurate description of the two lives of Soyuz, chronicling the recent cooperative space endeavors of Europe and Russia. The book is presented in two parts: Christian Lardier chronicles the “first life” in Russia while Stefan Barensky explores its “second life,” covering Starsem, the Franco-Russian company and implementation of technology for the French Guiana Space Agency by ESA. Part One has been developed from Russian sources, providing a descriptive approach to very technical issues. The second part of the book tells the contemporary story of the second life of Soyuz, gathered from Western sources and interviews with key protagonists.
“The Soyuz Launch Vehicle” is a detailed description of a formidable human adventure, with its political, technical, and commercial ramifications. At a time when a new order was taking shape in the space sector, the players being the United States, Russia, Europe and Asia, and when economic difficulties sometimes made it tempting to give up, this book reminds us that in the global sector, nothing is impossible.
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
The Soyuz launch vehicle has had a long and illustrious history. Built as the world’s first intercontinental missile, it took the first man into space in April 1961, before becoming the workhorse of Russian spaceflight, launching satellites, interplanetary probes, every cosmonaut from Gagarin onwards, and, now, the multinational crews of the International Space Station.
This remarkable book gives a complete and accurate description of the two lives of Soyuz, chronicling the cooperative space endeavor of Europe and Russia. First, it takes us back to the early days of astronautics, when technology served politics. From archives found in the Soviet Union the authors describe the difficulty of designing a rocket in the immediate post-war period. Then, in Soyuz’s golden age, it launched numerous scientific missions and manned flights which were publicized worldwide while the many more numerous military missions were kept highly confidential!
The second part of the book tells the contemporary story of the second life of Soyuz, gathered from Western sources and interviews with key protagonists. It addresses the sensitive issue of the strategic choices that led to the establishment of Soyuz in French Guiana, describing the role of a few visionaries in Russia and in Europe who decided to leave their respective isolation behind and bring Syouz and Ariane together.
In the final analysis, this book is a profound description of a formidable human adventure.
About the Author
Born in 1965, Stefan Barensky is a professional science and technology writer. He has been reporting on space technologies and industries since 1991 as an editor for multiple French and international space, trade, and political publications such as “Science & Vie,” “Interavia,” “Air & Cosmos,” “Aero Defense News,” and “European Voice.” A former space transportation analyst at Euroconsult and Launchspace, and editor-in-chief of the Orbital Launcher Report monthly newsletter, he also witnessed the gradual Westernizing of Soyuz from the inside as an editorial consultant to Aerospatiale (now Astrium), Arianespace, CNES, ESA.
