Why did the Soviet Union lose the Moon Race?
Why didn’t the Russians beat the Americans in the moon race? Reviewing the matter with hindsight, it might better be asked — how did they expect to win? The matrix below shows the reasons as given by the main Russian observors of the project. These are: • Vasiliy Mishin, the Project Manager for eight years after Korolev’s death, fired in 1974 • Nikolai Kamanin, commander of the cosmonauts and diarist, dismissed in 1972 • Boris Chertok, design leader within Mishin’s organization for guidance and control systems, who left extensive memoirs • Chief Designer Korolev, who confided his concerns, to Chertok before his premature death • The observations of key other decision-makers as recorded by Kamanin and Chertok. The investigation team of a plane crash usually finds several causes, a chain of events and mistakes, one leading to the other, thence to the final disaster. It was the same thing with the failure of the Soviet lunar program. The table is followed by a commentary. Systemic Proble
