India AND China beating US back to Moon

[edkyle98]

""The first nation to reach the Moon was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.""<br /><br />"And how many Soviet citizens walked on the Moon?"<br /><br />This isn't about people walking on the Moon. The original message in this thread was about unmanned lunar orbiters.<br /><br /> - Ed Kyle

 

[qso1]

RadarRedux:<br />The Soviet Union led a lot of things in space until the US started to gain traction in the late 1960s. I think Apollo 8 was probably the turning point where the US could definitively claim a major leadership position.<br /><br />Me:<br />That overlooks the actual turning point. Gemini was the turning point. We conducted 10 Gemini manned missions from early 1965 to late 1966 while the Russians kind of sat on the sidelines (Actually developing Soyuz). What we gained in Gemini was what the Russians still would largely not have had if they had gone to the moon. The Russians, as someone here mentioned, may not have been all that interested in a moon race in the 1960s. They worked hard on manned space through the early Voskhod flights then inexplicably stopped. This was later thought to have been prompted by their first space walk in which Leonov almost didn't get back into the Voskhod craft due to his ballooned up inflated EVA suit.<br /><br />When the U.S. began and sustained Gemini, the Russians probably took notice and kicked back into high gear. A lot of firsts were accomplished on Gemini, first use of fuel cells, first rendezveous and docking with a passive target (Agena). Gemini was the turning point of the moon race where the momentum was concerned.<br /><br />The Russian re-entry into the race began tragically with ther first manned Soyuz 1 flight in April 1967.<br /><br />The Saturn 1 was another American turning point. Prior to the launch in October 1961 of the Saturn 1, the Russians were hands down the leader in raw booster power. The Saturn vehicle turned it around for us in booster power required to reach the moon. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

edkyle98:<br />This isn't about people walking on the Moon. The original message in this thread was about unmanned lunar orbiters. <br /><br />Me:<br />Unmanned lunar orbiters were also something we beat all but Russia in. We long ago beat India and China in this arena. So if its about lunar orbiters and whos gonna get to the moon first? I doubt anyones gonna care.<br /><br />The tone of these "Who beat who" commentaries seems to reflect a general attitude that if its any country other than America getting somewhere first. Its a great thing. If America got there first, it does not count, its not important. I commented somewhere else or maybe here somewhere that the race is no longer important. That ended decades ago and IMO, we won the grand prize that was declared by Kennedy. But even though we did, contrary to pro anyone else beating us types. We didn't go around bandying about our victory. No serious people did. The historians who wrote the books on it didn't, at least not without acknowledging the other accomplishments, who accomplished them and their importance. We one the race, but at a high price and one not measured just in dollars. We won, and four decades later, its the one thing many people now view as not having been worth doing. I'd say the Russians might be saying..."America, better you than us, we got to space first and our own, plus your people see more value in that than you getting to the moon". <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>