On March 6, 1986, the Soviet Union's Vega 1 spacecraft flew by Halley's Comet. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com] Vega 1 was the first of five missions to fly by Halley's Comet in the ...
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union secretly launched military space stations under the Almaz program, some even armed with a cannon designed to defend against hostile spacecraft. In 1975, one of ...