Astronautics: the military-political aspect. From: Military Thought | Date: March 1, 2003| Author: Zhuk, E.I. | COPYRIGHT 2003 East View Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

The launch of the first earth orbiting satellite (Sputnik), on October 4, 1957 began the practical exploration of the boundless expanse of the Universe. It was Russia that laid the theoretical and philosophical foundations of space activity, implementing important technical and engineering projects that opened the way to using unmanned and manned spacecraft. The first sputnik and Yuriy Gagarin's flight on April 12, 1961 made this country a great space power. The prediction by K.E. ...