Lockdown files: Cold War, the space race and soft power

A fascinating (long) read from the BBC Future project, focusing on the 1960s space race that caught the world's imagination, fascination and awe, features this month an in-depth story on how Russia's cosmonauts trained for space.

"While the faces of Nasa's Mercury Seven were splashed across the world's media, Russia's cosmonauts trained in secret, hidden from public view."

A startling opening statement reminding readers of the stark cultural opposition between the two blocs: on one hand, the US's reliance on worldwide communication around its space programme to score soft-power points on the international stage, on the other hand, the USSR's long-standing tradition of secrecy that still defines Russia's approach to international relations to this day.

The rest of the story is just as fascinating, for both history lovers and technology/science/space enthusiasts!

Enjoy this story at:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210406-how-russias-cosmonauts-trained-for-space