Encyclopedia Astronautica

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Encyclopedia Astronautica
Astronautica.jpg
Main page
Type of site
 Astronautics
Available inEnglish
Founded1994
Created byMark Wade
URL www.astronautix.com

The Encyclopedia Astronautica is a reference web site on space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations, a comprehensive catalog of missiles, spacecraft, space technology, astronauts, and spaceflight from most countries that have had an active rocket research program. It provides biographies of important pioneers of spaceflight such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth Robert Goddard. It outlines various concepts of space stations including the NASA Space Shuttle and the Soviet Buran programme.

Contents

Articles

In addition, the encyclopedia contains many comprehensive review articles on specific space topics, among them:

Since 2019, the site is no longer updated or maintained. [6] Although it contains a great deal of information, not all of it is correct. [7]

History

Founded in 1994 and maintained for most of its existence by space enthusiast and author Mark Wade. [8] [9] He has been collecting such information for most of his life. Between 1996 and 2000 the site was hosted by Friends and Partners in Space . [9]

Reception and accolades

The American Astronautical Society gave the site the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History which "recognizes exceptional, sustained efforts to inform and educate on spaceflight and its history through one or more media" in 2015, the award's initial year. [9] The award is named for U.S. space engineer and author Frederick I. Ordway III (1927-2014).

Telepolis journalist Marcus Hammerschmitt warmly recommended the Encyclopedia Astronautic to anyone interested in space flight, and speculated that its articles might become valued material for future researcher of cultural history. [10]

In 2006, the American space historian Stephen B. Johnson stated that Encyplopedia Astronautica "has become a popular Internet source for space history. Unfortunately, while it contains a great deal of information, not all of it is correct. Space historians have noticed a variety of factual problems, and unfortunately these problems have not been consistently repaired. Since this is not a peer-reviewed source and historical errors have not always been fixed, this cannot be considered a reliable source, despite its impressive appearance. Many other online sources have the same problem." [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Verein für Raumschiffahrt was a German amateur rocket association prior to World War II that included members outside Germany. The first successful VfR test firing with liquid fuel was conducted by Max Valier at the Heylandt Works on January 25, 1930; and additional rocket experiments were conducted at a farm near Bernstadt, Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minotaur (rocket family)</span>

The Minotaur is a family of United States solid fuel launch vehicles derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). They are built by Northrop Grumman via contract with the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Directorate (SMC/SD) as part of the Air Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program which converts retired Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles into space and test launch systems for U.S. government agencies.

The Lost Cosmonauts or Phantom Cosmonauts are subjects of a conspiracy theory, which alleges that Soviet and Russian space authorities have concealed the deaths of some cosmonauts in outer space. Proponents of the Lost Cosmonauts theory argue that the Soviet Union attempted to launch human spaceflights before Yuri Gagarin's first spaceflight, and that cosmonauts onboard died in those attempts. Soviet military pilot Vladimir Ilyushin was alleged to have landed off course and been held by the Chinese government. The Government of the Soviet Union supposedly suppressed this information, to prevent bad publicity during the height of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas (rocket family)</span> Family of American missiles and space launch vehicles

Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas was a liquid propellant rocket burning RP-1 kerosene fuel with liquid oxygen in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "parallel staging" design: two outboard booster engines were jettisoned along with supporting structures during ascent, while the center sustainer engine, propellant tanks and other structural elements remained connected through propellant depletion and engine shutdown.

Kosmos 148, also known as DS-P1-I No.2 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1967 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme, and had a mass of 325 kilograms (717 lb).

Kosmos 204, also known as DS-P1-I No.3 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. and had a mass of 400 kilograms (880 lb).

Kosmos 242, also known as DS-P1-I No.4 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 275, also known as DS-P1-I No.5 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1969 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 308, also known as DS-P1-I No.7 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1969 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 391, also known as DS-P1-I No.11 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 440, also known as DS-P1-I No.10 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 497, also known as DS-P1-I No.12 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 662, also known as DS-P1-I No.14 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1974 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 750, also known as DS-P1-I No.15 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1975 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 849, also known as DS-P1-I No.17 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 901, also known as DS-P1-I No.18 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1977 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 116, also known as DS-P1-Yu No.6 was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1966 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

Kosmos 123, also known as DS-P1-Yu No.5 was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1966 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

References

  1. ↑ "Germany" . Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  2. ↑ "Russia - Early Ballistic Missiles" . Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Russia: The Real Moon Landing Hoax" . Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  4. ↑ "Russia: Russia: What did the CIA know and when did they know it?" . Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  5. ↑ On the start page one can select Today in Space History and access all events on the current day, e.g., via http://www.astronautix.com/a/august31.html for August 31. Accordingly, the link is editable to access other calendar days, e.g., http://www.astronautix.com/o/october03.html for October 3
  6. ↑ Wade, Mark (2019). "Contact Encyplopedia Astronautica" . Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  7. 1 2 Dick, Steven (2006). Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. p. 485. ISBN   9780160831539 . Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  8. ↑ David J. Shayler (2001). Gemini - Steps to the Moon. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 386. ISBN   978-1-85233-405-5.
  9. 1 2 3 "Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History". American Astronautical Society . Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Hammerschmitt, Marcus (August 29, 2002). "Recycling der Bilder" [The recycling of the images]. Telepolis (in German). Retrieved October 6, 2021.


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