Image of the Day
(http://bruce.org.uk/images/n1_2b2.jpg)
This is the business end of the largest Soviet rocket ever built. It is the 1st stage comprised of thirty rockets that were needed to lift then propel this huge rocket into Earth orbit and then onward to the moon. It is the Soviet's N1 rocket, a top of the toppermost top secret until glasnost and the fall of the USSR in the 1990's.
Down below you will see that the N1 had some similarities to the USA's Saturn V rocket. Both are heavy-load lifting rockets to propel a cargo of humans and a lunar landing craft toward the moon. Yes, the Soviets nearly got there first but thanks to some crap engineering, all four of their N1 rockets blew up. See here: http://youtu.be/m79UO4HOQmc
For the Soviets the N1 payloads were going to be the Lunar Kabin (see below on the left in green), the Kommand Module and the Return Module, (a spherical capsule), into which the Cosmonauts climbed to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and parachute to a hard landing somewhere in Kazakhstan.
(http://bruce.org.uk/images/greenthing.jpg)
(http://bruce.org.uk/images/SaturnV-N1.jpg)
(http://bruce.org.uk/images/sovietN1Booster.jpg)
Hi Bruce been off line, but this is an interesting subject and I would like to include these few pics on the sheer bravery of these well known Astronaut's and include them in your space 'Image of the Day'.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Challenger_flight_51-l_crew.jpg/220px-Challenger_flight_51-l_crew.jpg) (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Challenger_Memorial1.JPG/170px-Challenger_Memorial1.JPG) Front Row......... MICHAEL SMITH DICK SCOBEE RONALD McNAIR Back Row..........ELLISON ONIZUKA, CHRISTA McAULIFFE, GREGORY JARVIS, JUDITH RESNIK.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Challenger_explosion.jpg/250px-Challenger_explosion.jpg)