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Anatoly Zak

Anatoly Zak

Anatoly Zak is the publisher of RussianSpaceWeb.com and the author of Russia in Space: The Past Explained, The Future Explored.

Stories from this author

An inauspicious start: The newly arrived Nauka science module (right) alongside a Soyuz crew vehicle.

What’s Going on With Russia’s Space Program?

Was the recent ISS emergency an aberration, or a warning of things to come?

Alexei Leonov during history’s first spacewalk, March 18, 1965.

Alexei Leonov’s First Spacewalk Wasn’t Quite as Dramatic as We Thought

Newly released documents cast a different light on one of the most recounted stories in space history.

The new cosmonaut candidates, from left: Aleksandr Grebenkin, Kirill Peskov, Evgeny Prokopiev, Oleg Platonov, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Sergei Mikaev, Aleksei Zubritsky, and Konstantin Borisov.

Russia Just Selected a New Group of Cosmonauts. What For?

Russian spaceflight comes to a crossroads.

From this silo in Ukraine, an SS-24 ICBM would have leapt to its target. After the cold war ended, the silo was partially filled with concrete and propped open.

Inside a Soviet ICBM Silo

A rare visit to a doomsday bunker.

Part of a Lunokhod-2 panorama taken on the moon in 1973.

The Day a Soviet Moon Rover Refused to Stop

A formerly secret report details the triumphs and setbacks of an early lunar mission.

Laika, before the launch that made her the first living creature in orbit.

Laika Declassified

The truth about the first dog in space came out a little at a time, over decades. And we still may not know the full story.

Yuri Gagarin (in cap) accompanies Vladimir Komarov (to his right) on the walk to the launch pad, early on the morning of April 23, 1967.

The First Fatal Spaceflight

Myths and memories of Vladimir Komarov’s Soyuz 1 mission.

Ready to set a space endurance record, cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko (left) and Georgy Grechko prepare to board their Soyuz 26 rocket in 1977.

Georgy Grechko, 1931-2017

Once the record holder for time spent in orbit, the cosmonaut’s career ranged from Sputnik to space stations to science fiction.

Soloviev (left) and Kizim practice for their epic flight.

The Strange Trip of Soyuz T-15

Thirty years ago two cosmonauts commuted from one space station to another, the only time that’s ever been done.

Cosmonaut Maksim Suraev, palling around with two empty spacesuits, was the first Russian to blog from space, giving citizens a look into orbital goings-on.

A Rare Look at the Russian Side of the Space Station

How the other half lives.

Elena Serova looks through a hatch outside a space station training mockup in Houston last October.

“Not a Woman’s Profession”

Elena Serova overcame more than the rigors of cosmonaut training to reach space from today’s conservative Russia.

A Soyuz rocket launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Spaceport in Siberia

Russia is building a rocket launch complex six time zones from Moscow. Will its aerospace industry follow?

Tested friendship: NASA astronaut Steve Swanson (left), Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev are preparing for a March 26 launch to the space station.

Space cooperation: A U.S. bargaining chip in the Ukraine standoff?

Russia’s space program may need NASA more than NASA needs Russia.

The Il-76MD transport, one contender for a cosmonaut rescue vehicle.

Planes, Ships…and Caspian Monsters

Russia rethinks how to rescue returning cosmonauts

Valentina Tereshkova as seen by flight controllers during her Vostok-6 flight. Mission controllers could downlink live TV pictures of the cosmonaut in orbit.

Valentina Tereshkova’s Journal Sheds New Light on Her Historic Spaceflight

The first woman in space had code words to inform the ground of problems, from sickness (“palm tree”) to engine failure (“elm tree”).

Scenes from a Russian Airshow

Stealth fighters, nuclear rocket designs, and a new lunar lander all were on display at MAKS 2013

The main gate of the Xichang launch center, after the accident. American visitors saw hundreds of people gathered here before the launch. Chinese officials claimed they were evacuated in time.

Disaster at Xichang

An eyewitness speaks publicly for the first time about history’s worst launch accident

Russian scientists have recently improved their probe by replacing the drill shown with a scoop device to collect soil in the weak gravity of Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons.

Mission Possible

A new probe to a Martian moon may win back respect for Russia’s unmanned space program.

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Lunar Clipper

With rich tourists traveling to Earth orbit, can a cruise around the moon be far behind?

Launch of a German V-2 rocket, dated October 3, 1942.

The Rest of the Rocket Scientists

Some went west. This is the story of the ones who went east.

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