In 1951, historic peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco, decades later Kremlin rejects Tokyo's request to dismantle new World War Two memorial in RussiaSan Francisco Peace Treaty entered into force on April 28, 1952. On that date, Japan formally regained sovereignty and the Allied occupatio...
08 Sep, 2026, 07.44 PM IST
In 1998, a Russian nuclear submarine launched a German satellite from beneath the Barents Sea using a missile once designed to deliver nuclear warheads thousands of kilometres awayA Russian submarine launched German satellites from the Barents Sea. The K-407 Novomoskovsk used a modified ballistic missile for this miss...
07 Sep, 2026, 10.29 PM IST
In 1951, two female stray dogs named Dezik and Tsygan became the first mammals to successfully cross the border of space and return aliveIn 1951, two female stray dogs named Dezik and Tsygan became the first mammals to successfully cross the border of space and return alive. ...
06 Sep, 2026, 01.35 AM IST
In 1957, Vanguard TV3 rose about 4 feet before its rocket exploded; the 3-pound satellite was thrown clear, recovered, and now sits in the Smithsonian's Air and Space MuseumIn 1957, an American satellite launch ended in disaster when the rocket exploded on the launchpad. The salvaged satellite ultimately became...
05 Sep, 2026, 01.30 PM IST
In 1944, a German aerospace engineer along with his team invented first long-range ballistic missile for Nazi Germany but it was built by concentration camp prisoners under brutal conditions, laying the foundation for both the American and Soviet space programsIn 1944, a German aerospace engineer along with his research team invented the first long-range ballistic missile secretly for Nazi Germany...
05 Sep, 2026, 03.02 AM IST
With wary eye on Russia, Finland runs Europe's largest civil defence exercise since WWIIFinland has initiated an extensive civil defence drill, simulating scenarios of cyberattacks and missile threats to bolster preparedness. B...
03 Sep, 2026, 12.31 PM IST
In 1990, the USSR sent six Japanese tree frogs to the Mir space station for an eight-day experiment, where researchers watched them float with all four legs stretched out and their bodies bent backward - then found the frogs improved their ability to land after jumping in microgravitySix Japanese tree frogs journeyed to the Soviet space station Mir in 1990. They spent eight days in microgravity, which allowed researchers...
03 Sep, 2026, 11.56 AM IST
Toyohiro Akiyama dies at 84: Japan’s first person in space was a journalist who live-reported from Mir and observed six tree frogs in zero gravityToyohiro Akiyama, the trailblazing figure and Japan's first civilian in space, has passed away at the age of 84. His remarkable journey to ...
03 Sep, 2026, 11.16 AM IST
In 1987, Bion 8 carried monkeys Yerosha and Dryoma for 13 days; Yerosha escaped part of his restraints before the capsule landed 1,850 miles off targetThe Soviet Bion program studied weightlessness effects using rhesus macaques. Bion 8 launched in 1987 with two monkeys, Yerosha and Dryoma....
31 Aug, 2026, 07.40 PM IST
50,000 people lived here. Then a 1986 nuclear disaster turned the town into a ghost place overnight. The reason still haunts the worldPripyat was a modern Soviet city of nearly 50,000 people before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 forced its residents to leave. About...
31 Aug, 2026, 10.26 AM IST
In 1951, Soviet dog Smelaya ran away before her rocket launch; after she returned, she flew safely with MalyshkaDuring the initial experiments in space exploration, Soviet engineers evaluated dogs for their survival skills during launch. Female dogs w...
29 Aug, 2026, 07.10 PM IST
In 1951, Soviet space dog Bobik escaped before launch; scientists found a stray near the canteen, named her ZIB, and sent her 100 km up before a safe returnA stray dog known as ZIB unexpectedly filled in for a canine that went missing just before a Soviet rocket launch. With no training at all,...
29 Aug, 2026, 07.00 PM IST
In 1949, Soviet Union detonated its first atom bomb, ending U.S. monopoly on atomic weapons, more than seven decades later United States and Russia together hold over 80 per cent of world's nuclear arms stockpileSoviet Union’s first atomic bomb test transformed the international security landscape. On August 29, 1949, the world entered a new stage i...
29 Aug, 2026, 05.21 PM IST
In 1960, two dogs orbited Earth on Sputnik 5. A year later, one of their puppies reached the White House as a surprise gift for US first lady Jacqueline KennedyTwo Soviet dogs, Belka and Strelka, orbited Earth and returned safely. Strelka later had puppies, and one was gifted to the Kennedys. This ...
28 Aug, 2026, 12.24 AM IST
In 1968, two Russian steppe tortoises travelled around the Moon before humans did. They survived a punishing 20G force while returning to EarthIn a remarkable journey, two Russian steppe tortoises embarked on a mission aboard Zond 5, orbiting the Moon in September 1968. This pionee...
26 Aug, 2026, 10.37 PM IST
In 1968, two Afghan tortoises who beat humans to the Moon lost 10% of their weight - They flew around the moon on Soviet Zond 5 and returned alive 3 months before Apollo 8In September 1968, two tortoises made history as the first animals to orbit the Moon and safely return to Earth aboard the Soviet Zond 5 sp...
24 Aug, 2026, 01.36 PM IST
In 1975, Soviet Union sent a cannon to space and tested it from Salyut 3 station, just six months before US and Soviet astronauts met in orbit for the Apollo-Soyuz mission during the Cold WarIn January 1975, the Soviet Union fired a 23mm cannon from its Salyut 3 military space station as a test of its orbital defence system. The...
24 Aug, 2026, 12.07 PM IST