Why did Russia just give up after they were beaten to the moon? Why didn't they trying to surpass the US somehow?
>>380516
Why did we stop sending men to the moon? Why haven't we put men on Mars? Money doesn't grow on trees. The Soviets were having a hard enough time keeping up so throwing away more money wasn't very appealing. Also it seems their lunar program seemed to be rife with problems.
>>380516
They didn't. Actually, they launched a robot to try to beat Apollo 11 to the moon and steal our thunder. It crashed.
But they kept on with other space projects. Our SpaceLab program was mostly a disaster. Their Mir program was largely successful.
And, hell, right now today we can't even get men into orbit without hitching a ride on their rockets. Seems like it's we who gave up, not the Russians.
>>380554
/thread
>>380516
1. The Russian space program by '69 was no longer interested in scientific exploration. It was little more than a branch of the USSR's military at that point.
2. Even as early as the late sixties it was pretty obvious that the Soviet economy was in decline. They were saved and allowed to persist and linger through the 1970s thanks to high oil prices but by the 80s the game was up and the system they built started to fall apart.
Communism a shit.
>>380554
>developing launch and landing systems for deep-space manned excursions, including but not limited to a Martian landfall
>'giving up'
Sure m8. Those mid 80s Russian shuttles are real cutting edge. Those LEO insertion for NASA's petty cash (currently being undercut by private efforts in US) are real innovative. Definitely showing those Americans who the leader in space exploration is.
>>380738
>Those mid 80s Russian shuttles are real cutting edge.
What, the Buran? Not really sure how that's relevant, although it certainly was cutting edge tech for its time.
>Those LEO insertion for NASA's petty cash (currently being undercut by private efforts in US) are real innovative.
Shit, I might be going on old information. Which private spaceflight company has put NASA astronauts into orbit?
Meanwhile we actually bought Soviet rocket designs. Because they were superior to the ones we built.
https://youtu.be/BLg1QUq5GQM
>Definitely showing those Americans who the leader in space exploration is.
Well... one nation can fly at leisure... the other one cannot fly at all without begging the first.
Yep, seems pretty clear the Russians have the upper hand.
>>380554
>Seems like it's we who gave up, not the Russians.
please
>>380825
I'm not seeing the Russians putting advanced scientific robots on Mars at the moment.
But hey, I guess flying patched up Soyuz modules from the 80's counts as high tech.
>>380850
and how do you think the fucking probes got there burgerclap?
>>380842
I think he is just showing that perspective matters. Entertaining an idea does not necessitate endorsing it.
>>380825
>de-funding LEO shuttling missions and outsourcing simple payload drop offs to foreign contractors so you can focus limited resources on expanding humanity's presence in space is the same thing as being unable to put astronauts in LEO and "begging" Russians for help
Pretty sure it's called the INTERNATIONAL Space Station. I'd say it's high time the Russians started pulling their weight in keeping it staffed. NASA could very easily use one of their heavy lift rockets to put astronauts on the ISS but that's not their mission mandate so they use them to test Orion, for that Mars thing that's kind of a big deal.
And yes, sooner or later private shuttles will be capable of doing what the Russians do for even less. Their shuttles work fine actually, they just have to fine tune launch and recovery systems.
>>380860
Curiosity got there on an Atlas.
Mostly lack of funding. The final N1 launch was actually close to success and a prospectful fifth could have made it operational, but Soviets abandoned the project.
>>380554
>Our SpaceLab program was mostly a disaster
You don't even know what you are talking about, spacelab was an european shuttle module used for some microgravity experiments, for what it was designed for it worked.
If you think of Skylab then it was fucking huge, much larger then Salyuts or hell even Mir barely beats it. The only ire hire is that the STS came too late to boost it into higher orbit.
The US didn't proceed with more since the STS very purpose was to help build a large modular space station which became the ISS eventually.
>>380860
Using American rockets? welp.
>>380825
Commercial crew begins in 2017, private commercial cargo already beats Russian Progress in practically all aspects (payload and return capability).
>Meanwhile we actually bought Soviet rocket designs
Atlas and private Antares uses a Russian engine, while you got all-American Delta, Falcon and a pile of of small launchers, European and Japanese rockets to buy anytime, and new systems in development.
>"Begging"
Retarded word, Roskosmos is very dependent on the money NASA pays it.
>Yep, seems pretty clear the Russians have the upper hand.
Besides the above, Roskosmos has nothing to show vs NASA (and ESA) space exploration, only failures like Fobos-grunt and fancy plans by Poo the tin such as WE MOONBASE NOW.
Pic related, literally everything active is American, European or Japanese.
>>380516
Things got pretty shitty when the N1 exploded. That was their Saturn V. When it went up, lots of cash down the drain
>>381815
>Cash
The USSR was communist. Money wasn't an issue for them.
>>381819
lol
>>380862
what is this perpetual energy machine?
>>380516
The guy who spearheaded the soviet moon mission, the same guy responsible for the first intercontinental missile, the first satellite and the first man in space, died during a "botched surgical operation".
>>381961
Korolev couldn't get the N1 right without the help of Glushko who was responsible for the engines, it was a doomed project to begin with.
Still Soviets made the Energija 2 decades later which was almost as powerful as the Saturn V but then lol 1991.
>>380516
Because of the enormous cost. Technical problems were massive, but definitely possible to overcome. The cost was the key. Space race was basically one big dick waggling by the two superpowers. Once Americans won the race to the moon, there wasn't any political gain that would justify the expense.
>>380516
Actually, they were trying to land in Uranus,
but later realized possible homosexual implications.
>>380554
Yup. Russia won. Space travel is over. No point arguing.
