Soviet Space Program Articles
In-depth pieces on the Soviet space program, researched from declassified files and primary archives. Each one answers a question the existing sources leave scattered or unsettled.
How America Spied on the Soviet Space Program
A U-2 found the Soviet rocket base before Sputnik. Then spy satellites counted every missile silo and photographed the Moon-rocket pads at Baikonur. The declassified reconnaissance story.
Read the articleWhat Kennedy Really Said About the Space Race, on Tape
On his secret White House tapes, John F. Kennedy admitted he was 'not that interested in space', except as a race to beat the Soviets. What the recordings reveal about the Moon shot.
Read the articleWhat the CIA Secretly Knew About the Soviet Space Program
Declassified National Intelligence Estimates show the CIA tracked the Soviet Moon rocket, watched it fail, and called the race, often years before the public knew. Inside the spy files on the Soviet program.
Read the articleHow Much Did the Soviet Space Program Actually Cost?
There is no official number, and there never was. What the CIA estimated, what the Soviet Union finally admitted in 1989, and why a single clean dollar figure is impossible.
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