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Given the state of Soviet engineering at that time along with the pressure to get a spacewalk before the Americans, I can't help but believe that the probabilit
by sizzzzlerz 7y ago
Given the state of Soviet engineering at that time along with the pressure to get a spacewalk before the Americans, I can't help but believe that the probability that Leonov would not come home must have been huge and yet, he did his job. As an American, I have tremendous respect for our astronauts in that era but that respect is certainly earned by the Soviet men and women who went into space.
- avmich 7y agoThe state of Soviet engineering in space industry was noticeably different from an average level in the country. The resources going to space industry were also rather big; not on the level of Apollo, but still enough to make best minds of the country help solving fresh problems. The risks were huge, but there were also understanding of that, and a lot of efforts to counter the unwanted possibilities.
- MayeulC 7y agoUnfortunately, others weren't so lucky. The story of Vladimir Komarov [1] is heartbreaking. [1] https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/astronaut-vladimir-komarov-man-fell-space-1967/ https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/astronaut-vladimir-komarov-... (that specific account contains a bit of graphic imagery).
- oarabbus_ 7y agoHarrowing story.
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoParticularly the why in the closing paragraph.
- latchkey 7y agoReminds me of the recent Kursk movie as well... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_(film)
- noobermin 7y agoTbh, even until the 90s, even as safe as you can make spaceships, going into space is one hell of a risk. When things go wrong, no one can save you really. Now being the first perhaps takes an extra guts, and I can agree with that.
- mc32 7y agoThey certainly deserve respect. Many of those involved were under immense pressure to succeed. The state pretty much threatened their families’ wellbeing if certain things were not achieved.
- myth_drannon 7y agoThat's very surprising to hear. Any source to back it up?
- gdy 7y agoThat's bullshit.
- gdy 7y agoWhat can you say about the state of American engineering and the risks associated with it when you think of Space Shuttles?
- sizzzzlerz 7y agoThere are always risks when engaging in hazardous endeavors. The shuttles were designed (mostly) using solid, engineering principles with a fundamental goal of minimizing risks to human life. The Challenger explosion wasn't a failure of engineering, rather, it was a political decision to launch overriding engineer's insistence that it wasn't safe. Similarly, the Columbia disaster, caused by heat shield tiles falling off, was again, a political decision. It was known that the tiles weren't adhering correctly and, rather than correct the problem, NASA decided to proceed because they were under pressure to go.
- gdy 7y agoThese are the concerns that should've been listened to. But that's the benefit of hindsight. Were those the only concerns? If all the concerns were listened to, how much that would've affected flight schedules? Would've been Shuttles flying at all? And as a consequence, weren't the Shuttles overly complicated? Much simpler Soyuz is clearly a safer option.
- sizzzzlerz 7y agoWho knows? Failure analysis is, by its nature, one of hindsight. Unless failures occur, there isn't any way to assess what other issues might there have been.