September 20, 2000 – Cosmonaut Gherman Titov dies

Russian cosmonaut Gherman Titov (born September 11, 1935 in the village of Verkhnie Zhilino) died on September 20, 2000. He was found dead in the sauna of his Moscow home. He died of a heart-attack. Titov was the second human to orbit the earth, preceded only by Yuri Gagarin, although Titov was the first man to make a complete orbit of the Earth.

Wikipedia says:

“Following his spaceflight, Titov went on to assume various senior positions in the Soviet space programme until his retirement in 1992. In 1995 he was elected to the State Duma as a member of the Communist Party. He died of cardiac arrest in his sauna at the age of 65 in Moscow. He was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery. Titov’s family has established a fund in Houston towards NASA’s research center”

September 19, 1998 – Israel launches first space satellite

Israel became a spacefaring nation just two months prior to China when it launched its first satellitle, Ofeq, on September 19, 1998. Ofeq was the first of a series of reconnaissance satellites.

In 1995 the Israeli Space Agency said:

“Space research and exploration is an essential instrument for the defense of life on Earth; the lever for technological progress; the key to existing in a modern society; essential for developing an economy based on knowledge; and the central attraction for scientific and qualified human resources.”

Israeli Space Agency – ISA (Hebrew: סוכנות החלל הישראלית Sohnut HaHalal HaYisraelit) is a governmental body, that coordinates all Israeli programs of Space Research with scientific and commercial purposes. The agency was founded in 1983 (Wikipedia).

September 17, 1961 – Astronaut Pam Melroy is born

U.S. Space Shuttle commander Pam Melroy was born September 17, 1961 in

Astronaut Pamela A. Melroy, was commander of the STS-120 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

Melroy, who is just 46, is only one of twenty-five women who are active astronauts, and she is only one of two female Commanders in the program. There are a total of eleven Commanders in all, and just 92 active qualified astronauts. Melroy is indeed in elite company.

She retired from the Air Force in February 2007 having started her military career interest in ROTC. Melroy is a veteran of Operation Just Cause (Panama, 1989) and Operation Desert Shield/Storm (1990). She has logged over 5,000 flight hours in over 45 different aircraft.

Melroy was one of just 15 astronauts that were graduates of the class of 1995. Of the eleven present astronauts qualified as Commander, only two have been astronauts longer than her. STS-120 Shuttle Mission to the ISS is her first space flight as Commander. Melroy’s first space experience was in 2000 aboard STS-92 Discovery (Oct 11-24).

Young girls and women today are very fortunate to have models like astronaut Pamela Melroy and twenty-four other woman who have aimed high, and have seen their success in space science reach the heavens!

September 17, 1857 – great Russian scientist-pioneer, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, is born

His name was Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. He was born September 17, 1857 and died September 19, 1935, at age 78. He was an early pioneer in astronautics theory though he spent most of his life in a simple log cabin outside of Moscow. Though he was born even before the American Civil War he theorized about space travel and rocket propulsion. He is considered to the ‘father of spaceflight’. He also believed that the colonization of space would lead to the perfection of the human race.

During his life time he published over 500 works related to space travel including some science fiction novels. In a letter the year before his death (see below) he wrote, My works is the unassuming contribution to world science, but it’s the inherent part of humanity aspiration for the progress.

His theories included rocket boosters, multistage rockets and space stations. There is a crater on the Moon named after the Russian scientist called the Tsiolkovsky Crater.

Quotes:

“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
- Tsiolkovsky, cited in Wikipedia.

“Men are weak now, and yet they transform the Earth’s surface. In millions of years their might will increase to the extent that they will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, the atmosphere and themselves. They will control the climate and the solar system just as they control the Earth. They will travel beyond the limits of our planetary system; they will reach other Suns and use their fresh energy instead of the energy of their dying luminary.”
- Tsiolkovsky, cited in Wikipedia.

Hand-written note by Tsiolkovsky related to space travel.
Image credit: eBay auction item

Letter reads:

Dear Alexander Romanovich!
I am very grateful to you for the parcel and the letter, in which I found the true understanding of the problems. My works is the unassuming contribution to world science, but it’s the inherent part of humanity aspiration for the progress.
With respect,
K.Tsiolkovsky [signed]
Kaluga, May 7th, 1934.

Image credit: eBay auction item

Recommended Links:

• RussianSpaceWeb site

Recommended Reading:

• Russia’s Long Love-affair with Space

September 5, 1929 – Russian cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev is born

Russian cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev was born on September 5, 1929, and died July 3, 2004. Nikolayev was the seventh person to leave the earth aboard a spacecraft on August 11, 1962. This flight, Vostok 3, was also the first space mission to broadcast television images back to earth. Another fascinating aspect of this mission is that a day later the Russians launched Vostok 4. Both spacecraft orbited at the same time though they did not dock or rendevouz. But some in the United States space program thought they did.

Quotes:

Fellow cosmonaut Titov described Nikolayev as the “calmest man in an emergency I have ever known . . . which is necessary for the commander of a spaceship – a man of iron endurance and courageous determination.”
- cited in Into that Silent Sea (p. 177).

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin described Nikolayev as “the most unflappable man in a crisis I know.”
- cited in Into that Silent Sea (p. 177).

“The main thing is to keep calm.”
- Nikolayev, cited in Into that Silent Sea (p. 177).

Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich During Vostok 4 Flight
Image credit: NASA

September 2, 1948 – Civilian astronaut Christa McAuliffe is born

Christa McAuliffe, the teacher-astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, was born September 2, 1948. She died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger with STS-51-L crew on January 28, 1986 when the space shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after launch. McAuliffe was selected as a teacher-civilian to go into space by NASA based on the Teacher in Space Project.

Wikipedia says:

“The mission ended in disaster following the destruction of Challenger 73 seconds after lift-off because of the failure of an O-ring seal on Challenger’s right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). The failure of the seal allowed a blow-torch like flare to impinge upon one of two aft SRB attach struts, which eventually failed, freeing the booster to pivot about its remaining attachment points. Subsequently, the forward part of the booster cylinder impacted the external tank (ET) intertank area, leading to a structural failure of the ET – the core structural component of the entire stack. A rapid burning of liberated propellants ensued. With the structural “backbone” of the stack compromised and breaking up, the SRBs flew off on their own, as did the orbiter, which rapidly disintegrated due to the overwhelming aerodynamic forces.”

Quotes:

“Space is for everybody. It’s not just for a few people in math and science, or for a select group of astronauts. That’s our new frontier out there.”
- Christa McAuliffe, cited in Into that Silent Sea (p. 289).