> There's a reason why Saturn V beat the N1 to the moon -- the N1 had a distressingly consistent habit of blowing up: That, too, was a symptom, not a cause. T

> There's a reason why Saturn V beat the N1 to the moon -- the N1 had a distressingly consistent habit of blowing up: That, too, was a symptom, not a cause. The history of the N1 program is complex. As a westerner, you're probably more inclined to quickly thumb your nose at it, but the program failed for a sum of non-technical reasons. Korolev died early during the project. That alone was a major blow. Then, the Communist Party severely cut the funds needed for the project. They couldn't even test the rockets properly. Their "tests" were the actual live launches. Imagine if NASA was operating like that. They did the best they could, but with the chief engineer gone, and with almost no money, they couldn't get very far. I see the whole thing not as proof of lack of competence, but rather as a heroic effort against literally insurmountable difficulties. Someone should make a movie out of it, starting with Korolev's awesome early work before WW2, going through him being exiled in labor camp in Siberia by Stalin, then his rehabilitation and then the Sputnik and Gagarin, the start of the N1, Korolev's death (hastened by poor health after his siberian sojourn), and ending with the N1 being stopped and the engines being hidden in a facility against the wishes of the Party higher-ups to have them destroyed. A Dostoevsky drama kind of vibe would be quite appropriate, I guess.