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Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel

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Robert Zimmerman, space historian and enthusiast, combines a love of technical issues with extensive background research in this account of the nine space stations flown so far by the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the United States. As the full title suggests, Zimmerman sees an important rarely stated purpose for the stations: learning how to maintain, operate, and work within vessels that closely resemble those that will first carry humans between the planets.

This detailed historical account of space station development is a powerful demonstration of how people have learned critical skills for living in space through repeated failure of almost every imaginable variety.

Today we remember Mir and Skylab, but the early Soviet Salyut stations were where much of the real learning happened. Fires, propellant leaks, repeated docking failures and failures in all sorts of science experiments (particularly attempts at plant growth) characterize much of the early history. Failures in crew relationships were at least as frequent - some crews (generally 2 men for the Salyuts) got along famously, but others quickly got on one another's nerves and bitterly endured through months of orbital isolation.

Human failure is here too - the toothaches, infections and heart problems of normal life, and then also the worrying problem of loss of bone mass - up to 2 percent a month, in zero gravity. And political failure, which showed up in relationships with ground controllers who seemed to cease caring, in later years, about what were very serious problems in orbit.

The first failures were docking problems, and sadly, the loss of three cosmonauts. Brezhnev gave the go-ahead to the Salyut program apparently to improve international public relations for the Soviet Union, and so missions were much more public than they had been in the past. Soyuz 10, the first mission to Salyut 1, failed in attempts to dock, and had to return. Soyuz 11, carrying a last-minute crew, successfully docked, and was met by the smell of burning insulation when they opened the hatch. At least half the equipment they'd been asked to work with didn't work
as planned in zero gravity. The three men spent three weeks on the station, dealt with another electrical fire, broadcast to the world from orbit, and managed to magnify a few personality conflicts along the way. And then, in their descent module shortly after leaving the station, a pressure equalization valve opened, and, despite their best efforts, they were dead in minutes.

The US Skylab came next, and it too started in failure - the last launch of a Saturn V rocket - during launch part of the meteor/heat shield was ripped away, destroying one solar panel and tangling another so it could not open, and exposing the workshop enclosure to direct sunlight, raising its temperature to as high as 130 degrees (F). Skylab's first crew, launched 10 days later, managed to fix essentially all the problems (except for the lost solar panel) through ingenuity and hard work.

Follow-on crews learned a lot about living in space - but ironically, the science experiments approved did not include any of the plant-growth experiments the Soviets were so keen on - growing plants in zero gravity was not something US scientists were funded to study, despite the apparent usefulness for long-term living in space.

The Soviet Salyut stations followed one after another; the first really successful one, as described by Zimmerman, being Salyut 6, launched in 1977. They had learned a lot from earlier failures and experiences, and now had a station that could sustain itself for long periods in orbit, with human assistance. Salyut 6 had a fire too - these early experiences with fires in space explain why the later fire on Mir was much more frightening to the American on board, than to the Russians. Salyut 7, which was still orbiting when Mir's first pieces launched in 1986, suffered a very severe propellant leak that nearly disabled the station; a later crew ripped open the outer shell of the station to get at the various bits of tubing they needed to test and replace, and managed to make the repairs needed over a series of space walks
that amounted to more than all previous Soviet space walks combined.

The Russians had learned how to deal with problems in space, how to fix them with their own ingenuity. Since Salyut 1 they have not lost a single person, not even had any severe injuries. There had certainly been some very close calls - the fire on Mir and the later collision of a Progress freighter with the station could have been very serious. But somehow they managed, through luck and ingenuity, to keep things working. As Zimmerman puts it, the station had proved that the technology for going to other planets was available, and buildable. "Provide human beings with the necessary tools and supplies and they can go anywhere."

The Soviet space program had become, in the new Russia, independent and profit-oriented - driving hard bargains and keeping a technology edge. In the US, in contrast, things had become very rigid, bureaucratic, and "focusless". In Zimmerman's phrase, the two "ships passed in the night": America's efforts in space now resemble those of the early Soviet Union; astronauts have little freedom to do their own things, with everything prescribed down to the minute. No room for learning, or ingenuity among those who are actually experiencing spaceflight firsthand. Problems and risks are ignored or downplayed by the bureaucracy. Commonsense is thrown out the window. And tourists like Dennis Tito are seen as threats, not vindication.

One of the strengths of Zimmerman's book is the focus on the people - but this also leads to many somewhat formulaic biographies of many cosmonauts and figures such as Boris Yeltsin. The psychological interactions among the different crews are certainly interesting, as are all the wonderful historical details Zimmerman has dug up. A great book for space history buffs, and anybody interested in the experiences of the first to practice what we'll need to do to travel between the planets.

Zimmerman has crafted a compelling history of long duration space flight. By necessity, the story is 80% Soviet / Russian. Zimmerman must have tapped into some new sources for material as there are plenty of new revelations of both good and bad aspects from inside the Soviet program. I was especially impressed by Zimmerman's treatment of the underlying political machinations, both Soviet / Russian and American, and their effects on each country's space exploration program (and bonus: one of the few balanced accounts of Reaganomics!) The diagrams of the various stations are excellent, and you will find yourself constantly referring back to them as Zimmerman takes you through each station's growth and evolution.

On the down side, there is only one chapter devoted to all three Skylab missions, and I couldn't help but wish this received more attention. Additionally, the volume suffers from a lack of any photographs whatsoever.

All in all, this volume still ranks as one of the best factual accounts of manned space flight that I have read. It is an excellent companion to Burrough's "Dragonfly" and Burrows' "This New Ocean."

Every page of this interesting book is packed with details of the evolution of the Russian manned space program. It is very well researched and Robert Zimmerman does an excellent job describing the interaction between on-the-ground politics and space science. The stories of life, survival and endurance on the space stations is facinating. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the history of man's quest for conquering the many problems of surviving in the harsh space environment.

One of two aspects of Mr. Zimmerman's book that most reviewers seem to have missed is his recounting of the many errors, problems, and dilemmas, large and small, trivial and hazardous, that the cosmonauts encountered. Mysteriously missing antennae, fogged-over helmet visors, balky space ship hatches and no power are just some of the hardships that had to be surmounted.

Another aspect of the book is the recounting of the many personality conflicts between the cosmonauts. Grueling work schedules, close quarters, and differing backgrounds of the cosmonauts drove wedges between the crew members. Oftentimes they would just stop speaking to each other. Other times, the crew member with the higher ranking would pull rank in the most inconsiderate manner.

I found the examination of these weaknesses (structural and psychological) to be fascinating. They brought a human element to the book and made it a very interesting recounting. The same holds true for the examination of how politics, economics, and the fall of the Soviet government changed the Russian space program.

I highly recommend this enjoyable and informative book

Having just finished this book , I must say I was greatly astonished. I have read almost everything on the American space program and what little has been written on the Soviet/Russian program. I apparently knew very little of the incredibly brave and tenacious Russian program. What a great story of risk, perseverence, personalities and achivement. This book casts their accomplishments in a whole new light. To say it again; I was astonished. Robert Zimmerman tells this story in a wonderfully readable and dynamic way. It was hard to put the book down.This is also the sad story of how NASA has become a beaurucratic do nothing agency since the glory days of Apollo and Skylab. Zimmerman also writes with an eye toward future journeys to Mars and beyond that gave me hope that someday we will really go!

Award-winning essayist Robert Zimmerman presents Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, And The Quest For Interplanetary Travel, the scientific and historical saga of humanity's efforts to reach out into the cosmos, and ranges from the space satellites of the Cold War era; to modern-day exploits and advances in the exploration of space; the efforts and tragedies of NASA, and more. A seamless recounting of methodical discoveries and political maneuverings alike, Leaving Earth is a super contemporary history and a welcome contribution to the History of Science reference collections in general, and Space Exploration reading lists in particular.

This book was quite interesting and eye-opening in many ways. I have to agree with one of the back-cover reviews that many Americans, even ones very familiar with NASA and western space activities, don't know much about all that the Russians have been doing in space since the 1970's. At least that applied well to me.

The overall focus is on space station research since the 1970's, which necessarily centers on the Soviets/Russians, esp. the Salyuts and Mir. The account is fascinating, detailing crew working relationships and personality conflicts, medical research on long-term zero-G flights, space greenhouses and biology experiments, and many, many instances where cosmonauts and ground controllers had to improvise repairs to keep things working. It's a survey account, and a good jumping-off point to get into this subject more deeply. The bibliography has some very good references here.

I also enjoyed very much the author's focus on using space station research as a means towards preparation for interplanetary flight. That's an angle you don't hear much. (Though I don't believe he addressed the question: If you're studying bone less etc so much, then why don't you also study the possibility of artifical gravity through rotating stations?)

There were a couple criticisms. Photographs would have been nice, and the diagrams could have been labelled better. The author tends to romanticize and not really express the gravity of some Russian near-catastrophes in space. He presents a fairly one-sided view of ISS, though his points are well taken about NASA's over-control and bureaucratic tendencies.

Overall though, I enjoyed very much the spirit of the book. The focus was on using Space Station research to learn how to live and work in space and for possible missions of the future, rather than as a jobs program. The Russians are shown as being inventive and clever, conducting solid research and solving multiple problems with limited resources. There are some very nice passages about what it's like to experience space, especially seeing the universe when out on spacewalks. It gets one thinking about what might be accomplished in the years ahead, given a similar attitude.

Zimmerman's book is the detailed story of the first space stations. Anyone interested in manned spaceflight should
read it. My criticisms would be of two sorts; First, he speculates too much about the politics behind the decisions. I especially object to the all too american right-wing bias in his judgements. Secondly, he fails to make connections with the concurrent unmanned space research. "Exploration" is not humans going places and doing sightseeing. Exploration is doing science and doing science is more about unmanned spaceflight.

Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel by Robert Zimmerman is an exciting and exceptional space history book, filled with insights, well-documented research and important facts and information. Not only has Zimmerman accurately described the original Soviet space program, its evolution to the present day Russian space program that is largely more free-enterprise driven than our own space program, he shows how and explains why our own space program, as managed by NASA and Congress, looks more and more like a centrally planned government program supported by like-kind government policy. Zimmerman's research has been carefully documented and made available to the readers. His focus on space station history, the politics of manned space flight, and his subsequent analysis of both is second to none. As our current administration moves forward with its new comprehensive space policy initiative, what Zimmerman has to say takes on an even higher level of importance. I firmly believe that by reading and understanding Leaving Earth, it will be easier to move forward, to advocate quality space programs and development, and to facilitate our becoming space-faring. (Host of the radio talk show, The Space Show).