Why the USA overtook the USSR in the "moon race"

The Soviet Union and the United States of America were irreconcilable rivals. In any field, they tried to show their superiority to each other. Each victory was supposed to demonstrate the advantage of one lifestyle over another. The Soviet Union tried to prove to the world that the socialist path of human development is the most correct and productive, while the United States sought to refute this.


One of the most striking examples is the battle for the moon. The fatal point in this struggle was put by the landing of American astronauts on the lunar surface in July 1969. And it cannot be said that this was an unconditional victory. Moreover, it cannot be said that the Soviet Union was doomed to defeat. It just happened that prevented us from winning the US race.



Space Odyssey Launch

And it all began on April 12, 1961. This date is today considered the International Cosmonautics Day around the world. Then man first left the borders of our planet and ended up in space. It was the Soviet military pilot Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin.

Despite all his economic, technical and scientific potential, the United States was hopelessly behind the USSR in space exploration. We launched the first satellite, built rockets capable of reaching space. Even in outer space, the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first to enter.

In America, Werner von Braun himself engaged in rockets, the world's best rocket engineer, who had previously worked for the Third Reich. Despite this, Soviet rockets and rocket engines surpassed American developments.

Moon race

Everyone understood that the next step was to be a man’s flight to the moon. Nikita Khrushchev, who was then the head of the Soviet state, set the task: by all means become the first here too. He said the following:



And they did not spare anything on the lunar program. Institutes, design bureaus, leading scientists and designers of the country dealt with this problem. The Americans also came close to the race, using the best minds and solid finances in it. But until the 90s, the presence of the lunar program in the Soviet Union was kept secret, because they did not want to admit its failure.

Kennedy set the task by the end of the decade to land on the moon, and it was completed.

By the end of 1968, the USSR and the USA came to the finish line and were ready to cross it. Each of the countries had a rocket to deliver crews to the moon. They tried to launch the Soviet super-rocket N-1 four times, but each attempt was unsuccessful. American Saturn 5 was launched with three astronauts on board. He was able to reach the moon, fly around it and go back. And a little later, people landed on its surface.

Why did we lose?

All this may seem strange. How could it happen that a country with the best achievements in rocket science could not launch, probably, the most important rocket in its history?

The exact and main reason is difficult to name. Our country was in no way inferior to the United States. Soviet specialists worked without sparing themselves, often overtime, trying not only to meet the deadlines, but also to complete the work even faster. Space developments were carried out by talented scientists and designers.

There is a version that the main reasons for the failure were organizational and personal factors. If the Americans developed one project, the Soviet leadership set the same task for different design bureaus, creating competition between them. We know Sergey Korolev, but he was far from the only talented designer working on the creation of a “lunar” launch vehicle and spacecraft.

One design bureau was working on a moon landing project. Another dealt with the option of flying around her without landing. For these purposes, different missiles were needed, but for both projects they decided to use the N-1 rocket developed by the Korolev Design Bureau. Even today, it is considered the largest device ever created by a person for flying. Moreover, Sergei Pavlovich himself did not live to see the realization of his project. And after the first two accidents with this missile, they began to work out the version with the Proton missile, created by the Chelomei Design Bureau, but it was too late - the Americans were the first to manage.

Some experts believe that engines were the weak point of the N-1. Due to a quarrel with Valentin Glushko, a leading specialist in the development of rocket engines, Korolev abandoned his project and turned to another developer. Kuznetsov Design Bureau, which turned Korolev, had no experience in creating rocket engines, specializing in aircraft. Perhaps Glushko’s engines would be a better solution.

Thus, the rivalry and squabbles between the developers, the lack of common leadership, rush, red tape and pressure from the authorities caused the collapse of the Soviet lunar program. It turned out that smart and talented, but ambitious and ambitious developers could not create a single team. Instead of working together, they became interested in intrigues and interfered with each other. Instead of competing with the United States, they began to compete with each other, which, perhaps, was the main reason for the failure.

But the loss of the “moon battle” does not in the least detract from the merits and victories that they achieved in other “battles”. We well remember all the successes achieved by the Soviet Union in astronautics and recognized by all mankind. After all, there were much more victories than defeats.