Re:Operation Gunman – how the Soviets bugged IBM typewriters...
by azernik on Saturday January 27, 2018 @11:51PM
(#16249881)
The Soviet advantage wasn't really even in better rocket science - it was in a greater applicability of military knowledge.
In addition to making earlier investments in ICBMs (because of their lack of bases for strategic bombers), the Soviets also couldn't miniaturize their warheads as much and so had to build larger-payload ICBMs to launch them. As long as the space race was all about Earth orbit, where repurposed ICBMs like the Soviet R-7 or the American Atlas and Titan-II were all that was necessary, the Soviets could do more piggybacking on their existing engineering. Once it came to designing a new rocket purely for space exploration, the Soviets didn't have the resources to pull off something like the Saturn V.
This advantage played out militarily as well - when MIRVs became practical, Soviet missiles that had been built for the older larger Soviet warheads were capable of throwing more MIRVed warheads than American missiles.
In addition to making earlier investments in ICBMs (because of their lack of bases for strategic bombers), the Soviets also couldn't miniaturize their warheads as much and so had to build larger-payload ICBMs to launch them. As long as the space race was all about Earth orbit, where repurposed ICBMs like the Soviet R-7 or the American Atlas and Titan-II were all that was necessary, the Soviets could do more piggybacking on their existing engineering. Once it came to designing a new rocket purely for space exploration, the Soviets didn't have the resources to pull off something like the Saturn V.
This advantage played out militarily as well - when MIRVs became practical, Soviet missiles that had been built for the older larger Soviet warheads were capable of throwing more MIRVed warheads than American missiles.