The late 1950s and early 60s were a time of the Cold War, Sputnik, and the Mercury and Gemini space programs. Lionel’s entry ...

How did America respond to the Soviet Union’s space dominance? The Mercury Rocket was supposed to put the U.S. ahead, but despite its early victories, it was quickly replaced. Why? Find out the ...

This is a non-flying, staatic display model rocket of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 launch vehicle, made by Model Products in the late 1950s or early 1960s. There is a representation of the Sputnik 1 ...

Ever wonder why space launch vehicles are called rockets? Learn the origin of the term and how it came to define modern space travel technology.

We are at a critical time and supporting climate journalism is more important than ever. Science News and our parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen ...

Everyone remembers the 185-pound silver satellite that kickstarted the space race, but what about the rocket that got it there?

Sputnik immediately captured the world's imagination with its beeps and its planetary shape, but it took days for the Soviet designers to realize the magnitude of their accomplishment.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the impact of the R-7 rocket cannot be overstated. Sputnik was the first satellite humans launched into orbit, and it stunned the world.

That gang just happened to include German rocket scientist Alexander Lippisch, who invented the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a rocket powered aircraft flown during WWII.

Fifty four years after the first Sputnik, is a new race for space brewing? The fierce Cold War boiled over with the Russian launch of Sputnik in 1957. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara ...

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, the United States was desperate to catch up and two months later attempted to launch the Vanguard TV3 satellite aboard a Vanguard rocket.

Smith is author of “ Rockets and Revolution: A Cultural History of Early Spaceflight,” which was published by University of Nebraska Press this month. In the book, he chronicles the early pioneering ...