Monthly Archives: November 2024
As in most new ventures, there is risk involved, but sometimes it seems like the risk is too much. When the race to put a man in space began, the fight was on between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a fight that would eventually be won by the Soviet Union…but at what cost. Putting a man in space was going to be a big deal, but no one knew if space was a safe place, or if humans could even survive in space. It was an unusual dilemma, and it needed an unusual solution.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet space program utilized dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to assess the viability of human spaceflight. These dogs, including the first animal in space, named Laika, were used to orbit the Earth, and underwent surgical modifications to collect vital data for human survival in space. The program often selected female dogs for their anatomical fit with the spacesuits and mixed-breed dogs for their perceived resilience, but there was just one problem. The dogs didn’t really understand what was going on, and there was no human to calm them down. 
Laika, a part-Siberian Husky, was once a stray wandering the streets of Moscow before being recruited into the Soviet space program. She was used to little human contact. Nevertheless, she got used to it is the space program. While in space, she endured several hours aboard the USSR’s second artificial Earth satellite, sustained by an advanced life-support system. Electrodes connected to her body transmitted vital data to ground scientists about the physiological impacts of spaceflight. I just don’t see how poor Laika could have possibly understood all of this. Unfortunately, Laika died due to overheating and severe emotional stress.
During this period of testing, the Soviet Union conducted missions that included at least 57 dogs as passengers. Several dogs were sent on multiple flights. The majority survived, with most fatalities resulting from technical 
failures within the test parameters. Laika was a notable exception, as her death was anticipated during the Sputnik 2 mission orbiting Earth on November 3, 1957.
In preparation for the first manned Soviet space mission, over a dozen Russian dogs were sent into space, and unfortunately, at least five died during the flight. I think that if it were me, I would be pretty apprehensive about going into space after five dogs had died trying to do so. Nevertheless, on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, made history as the first person ever to journey into space. Traveling aboard Vostok 1, he completed one orbit around Earth before safely returning to the USSR. While it was a man that made history as the first person in space, it was a dog name Laika that actually paved the way…giving her life in the effort.
I think most people who followed the building of the International Spece Station were excited about this new venture in the history of space travel. The idea of men and women living and working up there for extended periods of time was amazing…especially when you considered the fact that they would be from multiple countries. Finally, on November 2, 2000, the first residential crew arrived to basically take possession of the International Space Station. The arrival of Expedition 1 heralded a new era of international cooperation in space and the start of the longest continuous human habitation in low Earth orbit. The fact that it is still going on to this day further adds to the enormity of the accomplishment.
The space agencies of the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe agreed in 1998 to collaborate on the ISS, and its initial components were launched into orbit that year. That in and of itself is amazing. For all these nations to agree to work together to benefit mankind is awesome. Five space shuttle flights and two unmanned Russian flights delivered many core components and partially assembled the station. Yuri Gidzenko 
and Sergei Krikalev of Russia, along with NASA’s Bill Shepherd, were the chosen crew for Expedition 1.
The trio reached the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket launched from Kazakhstan. Expedition 1’s tasks primarily involved constructing and installing various components and activating others, a process that proved challenging at times. In one process, for instance, the crew spent over a day activating one of the station’s food warmers. That was probably motivated by hunger!! Of course, I’m sure they had temporary rations available…just in case. During their mission, they received visits and supplies from two unmanned Russian rockets and three space shuttle missions, one of which delivered the photovoltaic arrays, the giant solar panels that provide most of the station’s power. I suppose that was similar to having house guests. Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev were the first to adapt to long-term life in low orbit, orbiting Earth approximately 15.5 times a day and exercising at least two hours daily to counteract muscle atrophy due to low gravity. You wouldn’t think that humans could lose muscle mass in space (or at least, I didn’t), but like with any other muscle strength, it really is a “use it or lose it” situation.
All in all, the three men were in space for a little over three months. It was a momentous event. Then, on March 10, the space shuttle Discovery brought three new residents to replace the Expedition 1 crew. Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev returned to Earth at the Kennedy Space Center on March 21. Since then, humans have 
continuously lived on the ISS, with plans to extend the mission until at least 2030. To date, 236 individuals from 18 countries have visited the station, and several new modules have been added, many aimed at conducting biological research. Like Niel Armstrong said when he stepped on the surface of the moon in 1969, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Yes, it was…and so was this.
In what must be considered very unconventional, at least these days, Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti of the Italian army effectively dropped the first aerial bombs on November 1, 1911. He took four grenades (“Cipelli”) in a leather pouch, each of a size of grapefruit and weighing about four pounds. The bombing took place during a flight over Libya, when Gavotti threw three grenades from his aircraft onto a Turkish encampment. These days we wouldn’t have even considered that to be a bombing run, but…well, what else could it be called. Planes were very new, and bombing runs unheard of. It was just eight years after the Wright brothers achieved the world’s first flight in America, and the Kingdom of Italy dispatched several aircraft to Libya, aiming to seize territory in their conflict with the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti boarded one of the Italian army’s wood-and-canvas “Taube” airplanes, carrying four grenades. It was a bold move, but then I’m quite sure that there were no anti-aircraft guns to worry about, and no fighter planes to run from either.
Gavotti headed towards the Turkish oasis encampment of Ain Zara, east of what is now Tripoli, and dropped 
three of his four grenades. This event marked the first instance of live ordnance being released from an aircraft under enemy fire. The Ottoman Empire expressed indignation, alleging that the bombs had hit a field hospital and resulted in civilian casualties. Subsequent investigations by the governments of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States concluded that the bombing likely resulted in minimal, if any, casualties since the grenades either failed to detonate or landed in uninhabited desert areas. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire was looking to garner sympathy for the act, and in reality, it was the beginning of many civilian casualties that could later be attributed to the bombings of war.
While that first “aerial bombing” brought with it limited collateral damage, it signified the beginning of a new era in aerial warfare, nevertheless. A Berlin newspaper observed that although airplanes and airships were not 
practical for offensive purposes, they proved indispensable for reconnaissance, stating, “The Italian Command is always, thanks to aircraft, informed of every displacement of Turkish troops, and knows the exact positions of them.” In subsequent years, German Zeppelin airships during World War I carried out bombings over cities throughout Europe, from Antwerp to Paris to London, heralding a time when aircraft would target not just military personnel but also civilian populations. While the Zeppelin bombings were much more effective, the credit for the first aerial bombing goes to the Italians, and Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti. I wonder how shocked the people on the ground were when those grenades dropped.
