Just weeks before Apollo 11 reached the Moon, the Soviet Union attempted to launch its massive N1 rocket, the centerpiece of its secret lunar program. The result was one of the most powerful ...

Introduction -- Fire onboard: Apollo 1 -- Death in a fireball: Soyuz 1 -- Nerves like wire rope: Gemini 6A -- Emergency landing in the Pacific: Gemini 8 -- Death at supersonic speed: X-15 -- Odyssey ...

In the intense years of the Space Race, the Soviet Union pursued some of the most ambitious rocket programs ever attempted, but two catastrophic explosions would leave lasting scars on its quest for ...