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bremidon t1_j6hyqcq wrote

Reply to comment by MisinformedGenius in Number of manned orbital launches by year, 1961-2022 by firefly-metaverse

>we were way behind the Soviets

That is a myth that somehow keeps getting wilder as the years go on.

The States were, on a purely tech basis, either even or slightly ahead of the Soviets the entire time.

The Soviets had three huge advantages though. They had Korolev, they had a great spy network, and they had a system that let them put safety a bit lower in the priority list.

This let them try stuff earlier. The usual game plan was to figure out when America planned to do something and then throw everything into doing it first. Korolev was an absolute genius at making it work. All in all, it was a strategy that seemed to bear fruit.

The problem with this strategy was exposed with the race to the moon. This was not something you could just throw together at the last minute. Even worse, Korolev died, leaving the program without the guy who somehow always figured out how to make it happen.

Even the Soviets realized the futility of it all. After a half-hearted attempt to continue with the program after the U.S. got to the moon, the Soviets had to give up completely on that.

They did develop some pretty cool engines and had a decent LEO program that went on up until the Soviet Union fell.

But the idea that the U.S. was behind or *way* behind the Soviets at any point is simply not consistent with the facts.

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MisinformedGenius t1_j6ix7ch wrote

What? The fact is that they were the first nation to launch an object into orbit, the first nation to launch a man into orbit, the first nation to launch an object into orbit around the Moon, and many other firsts. They had put two satellites in orbit by the time our first attempt blew up on the pad.

Yes, of course they were behind the US by the time we got to the Moon, but when Kennedy announced the Apollo program, we were without a doubt behind them. Can you name anything at all we did before the Soviets before, say, 1965?

The idea that they were behind us yet somehow would figure out what we were already doing and beat us to the punch despite our head start is nonsensical to say the least.

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bremidon t1_j6ltp1n wrote

>What? The fact is that they were the first nation to launch an object into orbit, the first nation to launch a man into orbit, the first nation to launch an object into orbit around the Moon, and many other firsts. They had put two satellites in orbit by the time our first attempt blew up on the pad.

Well, your username fits at least.

Yes, those are all true, but also incredibly misleading, and apparently you failed to understand what I wrote.

Again, once more for the kids who came in late at the back: the Soviets would find out when the States were going to do something and then throw everything at beating them to that. Go back and read my previous post for more information. The summary is that they were never technologically ahead of the States; they were just better at using what they had to get those "firsts" you mentioned.

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>The idea that they were behind us yet somehow would figure out what we were already doing and beat us to the punch despite our head start is nonsensical to say the least.

You may find it nonsensical, but that is probably because you are misinformed. Go back to your studies, actually read dry and boring historical records, and then it will make more sense.

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