Beth Dickey
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
bdickey@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 12-054
NASA COMPLETES PUBLICATION OF BORIS CHERTOK'S ROCKETS AND PEOPLE MEMOIR SERIES
WASHINGTON - NASA's History Program Office has released the fourth
volume of the English translation of Russian space pioneer Boris
Chertok's highly acclaimed memoirs, Rockets and People: The Moon
Race.
Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space
program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of
the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in
exploring space. The memoirs of academician Chertok, who worked under
the legendary Sergey Korolev, fill that gap.
Covering the dramatic years of the Soviet human space program from
1968-1974, this fourth volume addresses the development of the
mammoth N-1 booster - the Soviet competitor to the U.S. Saturn V moon
rocket. Chertok also discusses the origins of the Soviet space
station program, from Salyut to Mir. In addition, he examines the
tragic Soyuz 11 mission and provides an overview of the birth of the
Energiya-Buran space shuttle program. His account provides a
fascinating inside look at the political, technological, and personal
conflicts at a time when the Soviet space program was at its zenith.
From 2001 until his death in December 2011 at age 99, Chertok worked
with translators and series editor professor Asif Siddiqi, who is
associate professor of history at Fordham University, N.Y., and a
leading expert on the Soviet space program. Chertok re-organized the
material, and made substantial additions and corrections, with the
goal of making the NASA-published English language edition the
definitive version of his memoirs. Siddiqi annotated all four volumes
to make the complexities of the Soviet space program and the
intricacies of Russian culture clear to an English-speaking audience.
"This book is not merely the culmination of a decade of work by the
author and editorial team, it is a fascinating and highly readable
insight into the Soviet space program and the all too human people
who brought us the space race," said NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry.
For more biographical information about Chertok, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/chertok_obit.html
To download the publication free of charge, visit:
For more information about NASA history, visit:
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
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