Submission + - What if Sergey Korolyov had lived?
MrKaos writes: The Space Race that culminated with the Apollo moon landings was driven by the vision of Wernher von Braun on the U.S side and Sergey Korolyov on the Soviet side. Despite both being in the center of a maelstrom of two immense political machines both men were absolutely dedicated to bringing the space age into reality.
Korolyov put Sputnik 1 into orbit and thus began the space race. The Soyuz rocket family and spacecraft, designed and built under his guidance put the first man into space and continues to serve carrying crew and equipment to the International Space Station. His existence was a state secret that was not revealed until his death from cancer in 1966. It was a tragic loss to both sides as he injected vitality into the space race that ultimately meant the U.S could cut-back space spending.
At the time of his death Korolyov was working on a new project N1 moon rocket which was attempting to implement so advanced propulsion concepts. Given the man's drive, charisma and ability there is every chance he would have succeeded, even if the U.S ultimately got to the moon first.
Recent navel gazing in New Scientist about the Apollo program was interesting. But as an impetus, what if Soviet's were able to complete their moon plans and forced the U.S into spending more on space? What would our space programs look like now?
Korolyov put Sputnik 1 into orbit and thus began the space race. The Soyuz rocket family and spacecraft, designed and built under his guidance put the first man into space and continues to serve carrying crew and equipment to the International Space Station. His existence was a state secret that was not revealed until his death from cancer in 1966. It was a tragic loss to both sides as he injected vitality into the space race that ultimately meant the U.S could cut-back space spending.
At the time of his death Korolyov was working on a new project N1 moon rocket which was attempting to implement so advanced propulsion concepts. Given the man's drive, charisma and ability there is every chance he would have succeeded, even if the U.S ultimately got to the moon first.
Recent navel gazing in New Scientist about the Apollo program was interesting. But as an impetus, what if Soviet's were able to complete their moon plans and forced the U.S into spending more on space? What would our space programs look like now?
