Americans know Russia won the space race right? Asking because of something someone here said.
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. Therefore winning the space race. What’s the confusion?
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PatKirby · M
This is an interesting topic I enjoy and follow closely. It was neither the Soviet Union nor the United States but Germany who first launched a man-made object that reached space, namely a V-2 A4 rocket launched from Peenemünde traveling 118 miles on October 3, 1942. The 2-ton, liquid-propellant rocket was designed by rocket scientist Wernher von Braun who later worked with NASA to assist in their space endeavors.
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However, the space race generally involved the Soviet Union and the United States in competition. Although the Soviet Union is credited with many 'firsts' in space efforts (first: dog, man, woman, orbit around the Earth, etc...), the world's technical and cultural prize was the Moon. As we all know the United States got there first (and continued sending), but little is known of the Soviet Union's moon rocket called the N1 which was tested but exploded each of four tests.
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The main reason why N1 did not succeed lies in their inability to successfully make rockets the size and caliber of the big 5 F-1 rocket engines on the first stage of the Saturn V. They did not have the capital/skillset/logistics available to them back then, so they resorted to attaching 30 NK-15 rocket engines instead in a clustered configuration. The rocket exploded on every test.
[media=https://youtu.be/_iuo3J8L9b8]
Elon Musk of SpaceX has begun to master this difficult task of combining the 29-33 Raptor rocket engines necessary to launch his latest heavy lift rocket (Starship) successfully.
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[/center]Either way you look at it though, SpaceX has put the current Russian space program out of competition, and also rendering NASA's latest Artemis/SLS heavy booster projects on hold after numerous delays while partnering closely on several NASA projects. Elon Musk has implemented a way to launch re-usable rockets that not only significantly reduce the costs of sending payloads into space but found and surpassed the break-even point where space stations, moon bases as well as Mars flights and bases are not only feasible, but planned.
Thinking of applying for a job with SpaceX myself as I worked in the aerospace industry on rocket, missile, and satellite component failures. What a great time to be alive as we transition to becoming an interplanetary species!
However, the space race generally involved the Soviet Union and the United States in competition. Although the Soviet Union is credited with many 'firsts' in space efforts (first: dog, man, woman, orbit around the Earth, etc...), the world's technical and cultural prize was the Moon. As we all know the United States got there first (and continued sending), but little is known of the Soviet Union's moon rocket called the N1 which was tested but exploded each of four tests.
[center]
[/center]The main reason why N1 did not succeed lies in their inability to successfully make rockets the size and caliber of the big 5 F-1 rocket engines on the first stage of the Saturn V. They did not have the capital/skillset/logistics available to them back then, so they resorted to attaching 30 NK-15 rocket engines instead in a clustered configuration. The rocket exploded on every test.
[media=https://youtu.be/_iuo3J8L9b8]
Elon Musk of SpaceX has begun to master this difficult task of combining the 29-33 Raptor rocket engines necessary to launch his latest heavy lift rocket (Starship) successfully.
[center]
[/center]Either way you look at it though, SpaceX has put the current Russian space program out of competition, and also rendering NASA's latest Artemis/SLS heavy booster projects on hold after numerous delays while partnering closely on several NASA projects. Elon Musk has implemented a way to launch re-usable rockets that not only significantly reduce the costs of sending payloads into space but found and surpassed the break-even point where space stations, moon bases as well as Mars flights and bases are not only feasible, but planned. Thinking of applying for a job with SpaceX myself as I worked in the aerospace industry on rocket, missile, and satellite component failures. What a great time to be alive as we transition to becoming an interplanetary species!