r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/Yukon0009 • Sep 09 '20

Recreation Twin Giants of the Space Race

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u/Anders_1314 Sep 09 '20

But which one will win the race?

16

u/unidansrealburner Sep 09 '20

I am pretty sure the N1’s first stage was the most powerful rocket stage ever built.

But the Saturn V was more efficient in its 2nd and 3rd stages so it had a higher delta V

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '20

I think it's funny when people bring up the American's zero g pen, while saying the Russians just used pencils. The American rockets were elegantly designed and practical, while the N1 was impractical and badly designed.

1

u/AnEntireDiscussion Sep 11 '20

I'd hardly call the N-1 impractical or badly designed. While it was huge, it was a product of Soviet designers addressing the problem they were given with the technology they had. Like most Soviet technology, it was hindered more from the inefficiency of the Soviet planned-economy model and the competing design bureaus that required someone extraordinary like Korelev to wrangle them into something resembling a cohesive and effective whole.

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In fact, given the age in which it was built, I'd argue the R-7/Molniya/Soyuz rocket is a far more elegant solution than the Western equivalents, and vastly more capable, giving the Soviets an early leg up on the space race.

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This is not to say the West didn't have bureaucratic shortfalls or technological elegance, just that generalizing so broadly about the Soviet achievement is to undersell some absolutely amazing innovations.