The 50th Anniversary of Human Landing on the Moon: The Winner of the US-Soviet "Space Hegemony"

The 50th Anniversary of Human Landing on the Moon: The Winner of the US-Soviet "Space Hegemony"

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The 50th Anniversary of Human Landing on the Moon: The Winner of the US-Soviet "Space Hegemony"



Today, fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 The spacecraft lunar module landed successfully on the moon.

Since then, the United States has sent 12 astronauts into space, bringing back a large number of moonstone specimens, deepening human understanding of the universe. However, the United States did not hesitate to implement the moon landing plan in the past. The primary purpose was not scientific research, but the Soviet Union’s "space hegemony."

The Soviet Union first launched satellites

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union each obtained several rocket experts from Germany and opened their own space business. When Eisenhower became president of the United States in 1952, the top of the air force suggested the development of satellites.  The development and launch of the first satellite carrier will also have a highly important political and psychological Scientific significance." But at the time the United States was cutting defense spending and invested little in developing space technology. In 1955, the United States announced that it planned to launch a "scientific satellite." 1

Four days later, the Soviet Union said in a tit-for-tat the manner that satellites would also be launched during the year.

At that time, the Soviet Union was anxious to overwhelm the The United States in science and technology, so it fully supported the satellite plan hosted by Korolev. To avoid technical difficulties and launch satellites before the United States, the Soviet Union plans to weigh 1000-1400kg, and the satellite with 200-300kg equipment is simplified to the extreme - weighs 83.6kg, except for one radio transmitter, does not carry any other Complex instrumentation. Thus, in October 1957, the first satellite in the history of mankind, "Sputnik 1", successfully entered orbit. "Pravda" published an article saying:

"Artificial Earth satellites will open the way for space travel. Now this generation will see how the free and assertive working people can turn the most daring dreams of mankind into reality in a new socialist society." 2

The news of the Soviet satellites have shaken the entire Western world.

The New York Times article reminded the US National Security The council that "not only should new ideas be re-accepted, but also effective remedies should be quickly sought to re-establish the United States in this competition not only for arms and prestige but for survival. Gaining leadership." The British "Guardian" lamented in the report, "It is clear that they (the Soviet Union) have achieved great leadership in the field of missile technology."

Although Eisenhower and the military are convinced that "any country can't help attacking the United States today, it will quickly suffer terrible destruction." But in the face of turbulent public opinion, to boost the confidence of American and Western allies, it can only be forced. Increase the scale of space competition with the Soviet Union. In 1958, the US satellite "Explorer 1" carrying more scientific research equipment was successfully launched and put into orbit.

From 1957 to 1958, there was no decisive gap in space technology between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was only the The Soviet Union obtained intelligence and knew that the United States would launch one after a few months of launching satellites.

After the pursuit of the satellite launch record of the The Soviet Union, the US government remains skeptical about the need to further develop manned space flights. Eisenhower believes that with the Soviet satellite will be a recession, and huge extra costs, today's impetuous public opinion peak has passed, I hope the Ministry of Defense can find ways to save 200 million US dollars or more. For the manned mission plan submitted by NASA, Eisenhower replied:

"Oh, I also want to know the other side of the moon, but this year I can't spend money to explore it." 3

The US’s contempt for space technology has given the Soviet Union several "firsts": the first to send mammals (dogs) into space; the first spacecraft that landed on the moon, "Lunar 2",

These "firsts" have placed the United States in a rather unfavorable public opinion atmosphere in the "cold war." Khrushchev declared that "this is the time for capitalist countries to catch up with us." The New York Times said pessimistically, "Our the alliance is getting farther and farther away from us because the onlookers are convinced that the Soviet Union is the hegemon of the future. Our influence is gradually weakening as Khrushchev hopes."

This kind of public opinion atmosphere makes the new US President Kennedy feels the pressure. As early as the election, he said, "We are in a strategic space competition with the Russians, and we have always been at a disadvantage... If the Soviet Union controls outer space, they will control the earth... To ensure peace and freedom, We must fight for the first." 4 To change the US's disadvantages in this space hegemony, Kennedy has only one choice - to send astronauts to the moon.

The United States won the victory in the "moon landing competition"

On the third day after Gagarin entered space, Kennedy convened a meeting to discuss the feasibility of manned landing on the moon. Soon, Kennedy first proposed the "Apollo Plan" in the State of the Union address and was approved by Congress.

In 1965, after Johnson took over as president, the US government gave the space agency financial input, accounting for 5.3% of the total fiscal year. Johnson became the key figure in the United States to win the ultimate victory in "space hegemony."

The Apollo program did not go smoothly at first. In January 1967, Apollo AS204 (later known as Apollo 1) caught fire and caused three astronauts to die.

In October 1968, Apollo 7 carrying three astronauts successfully entered Earth orbit; in December of the same year, three astronauts took the first moon flight on Apollo 8; on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 On the moon, US President Nixon specifically asked them to appear on the TV screen with the American flag when they were on the phone with the astronauts to show the great achievements of the United States in the aerospace industry.

Nixon gave the moon astronauts great courtesy, mainly focusing on the political significance of the moon landing in the hegemony with the Soviet Union, rather than having too much interest in the aerospace industry.
               
"Our success in the field of a manned landing on the moon will help the development of the future space industry... However, there are many difficulties ahead of us, and there are many problems to be solved waiting for us to deal with, so we must learn to optimize the allocation of limited resources. ""

According to the original plan of the space agency, there will be 10 manned landings from Apollo 10 to 20. Due to Nixon’s cuts in financial investment, after Eugene Cernan’s Apollo 17, all moon landing plans were canceled. Cernan became "the last person to leave a footprint on the moon", in December 1972. 5

Unlike the United States, the Soviet Union’s moon landing the plan was secret, and it was not until the end of the Cold War that some files were made public.

In 1964, the Soviet chief aviation scientist Korolev had persuaded Khrushchev to support the moon landing plan:

"The United States not only has to complete the orbit around the moon but will also carry manned moon landings in 1967. This is the first anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Soviet state on Earth. How to avoid the United States accelerating its plans? There are still 3 During this period, we should pay full attention to it, organize our hard work, and solve various problems of manned landing and return."



In the same year, the Soviet Union made the "Decision on the Moon and Space Space Investigation Work", and the moon landing plan was officially released. 6 However, due to technical deficiencies and the death of Korolev, the Soviet Union failed to continue its glory in the exploration of the moon.

The accident at the Apollo 1 in the United States was deliberately rendered by the Soviet Union at the time. In July 1966, Soviet astronaut Komarov said:

"The Soviet Union does not have to speed up the manned landing on the moon like the United States, because our first principle is to ensure the safety of every astronaut. But I can assure you that the United States will not make the first move in the moon race."

In March 1967, Kamanin, who was in charge of the work of Soviet astronauts said:

"The Soviet Union will guarantee the absolute safety of astronauts. The accident of Apollo 1 was caused by the eagerness of the US moon landing plan, and the Soviet Union will never make the same mistake." 7

In fact, due to various hasty experiments, the Soviet Union caused many accidents. For example, from November 1966 to February 1967, the secret experiments carried out by the Soviet Union spacecraft all failed, but on April 23, 1967, to give a gift to the May Day International Labor Day, the Alliance 1 spacecraft was still Lifted off. That night, the Alliance 1 spacecraft crashed and the astronaut Komarov was killed. In February 1969, the first lunar rover launched by the Soviet Union exploded after 52 seconds of take-off. The search force was not told that the scattered debris was radioactive, resulting in a large number of people being exposed to radiation. On July 3, 1969, the Soviet Union failed to test the N-1 rocket, and the launch pad was blown into ruins. 8

All kinds of frequent failures eventually led to the Soviet Union completely losing the "moon landing competition"; landing on the moon also became the most important winner of the US-Soviet "space hegemony".

There are at least three major reasons for the failure of the Soviet Union:

(1) It will always seize the "first", political gifts and manufacturing bombardment as the primary strategic goal of developing aerospace, ignoring the practical research on space technology.

(2) Economic strength and technological strength are inferior to the United States.

(3) The management system is confusing and there are defects in the system. Different design bureaus are arguing over the moon landing program. When Korolev developed the N-1 rocket, another scientist, Chrome's rocket program, was also promoted at the same time, which made the original limited investment of the Soviet moon landing plan dispersed. Chelomen used Khrushchev’s son as an assistant, so he was highly valued by the top. After the death of Korolev, the drawbacks of the Soviet scientific research system became more apparent. At that time, in the military scientific research system, there was also personal worship of the total design. The newly succeeded chief scientist Mi Shen had no such personal prestige and even struggled.

The huge cost of both countries

How much did the US and the Soviet Union spend on the "moon landing contest" in the past?

The US manned mission to the moon includes three phases. The first phase is the Mercury Project. It needs to solve the problem of human beings staying in outer space for a long time and returning from the moon into the Earth's atmosphere, costing about 400 million US dollars. The second phase is The "Gemini Plan" needs to solve the problems of spacecraft docking and astronaut spacewalking, costing about 1.28 billion US dollars;

The Mercury Project was launched in 1958. To assess the budget required for landing on the moon, Eisenhower formed a body called the “Special Committee on Manned Space Flight”. The Commission estimates that it will cost $26-58 billion to achieve manned landings. Eisenhower was shocked and began to cut the NASA budget and canceled all manned space projects except the Mercury Project.

In 1961, the Soviet Union sent Gagarin to space. In response, the United States had to send astronauts to the moon before the The Soviet Union. NASA estimates that if it wants to land on the moon in 1970, it will cost about $22.3 billion; if it is to accelerate further, it will cost $33.7 billion in the 1967 moon landing (the US GDP in 1976 was about 830 billion). USD). President Kennedy endowed the "Apollo Plan" with "the highest priority in the country" and financially supported the work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 10

In 1963, Kennedy was assassinated and successor President Johnson continued to maintain support for the Apollo program. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 finally sent humans to the moon.

In short, the United States invested at least $26 billion to grab the moon before the Soviet Union.

Since all of these funds come from government grants, the Apollo program must be conducted under the strict supervision of the public, Congress, and the scientific community. The personnel involved in the matter need to explain and explain their work from time to time. To maximize the use of funds and reduce external doubts, NASA has developed a series of measures to manage projects and control costs.

For example, for the development of spacecraft hardware, NASA will first use its advanced technical strength to formulate specifications and requirements, and then bid to the technology company to design and manufacture each hardware. Because the moon landing plan is “unprecedented”, the cost of developing much hardware cannot be accurately estimated. For example, the estimated cost of the Gemini Plan in 1962 was 531 million US dollars, but the actual cost is nearly three times that number. So the NASA set up several committees to evaluate the contractors. When the contractor requests additional funding due to technical issues, the committee must evaluate whether to grant more funds. 11

Also, NASA adopts a moderate risk-taking approach, “substantially compressing the test project and adopting a multi-pronged approach” to ensure the progress of the study; at the same time, reducing the several trials and reducing the number of hardware orders to control costs.

Despite this, the "Apollo Program" has attracted a lot of criticism because of its huge cost. Some scientists believe that the knowledge of the universe learned by manned missions can be obtained at a lower cost. 12 and the supporters believe that the "Cold War" of the United States and the Soviet Union had reached a critical point, and the victory of the United States in the "moon landing competition" greatly stabilized the confidence of the people and allies. This effect is difficult to measure with specific money...

How much the money the Soviet Union invested in the moon landing plan, the current file has not been decrypted.

From the limited disclosure of materials, from 1966 to 1970, the Soviet Union invested a total of 7.9 billion rubles in the outer space project (according to the exchange rate at that time, about 24 billion US dollars), of which about 20%, or 4.8 billion dollars for the moon landing plan. In contrast, in 1966 alone, the United States spent $4.5 billion on the moon landing (the Soviet Union’s GDP in 1970 was about $430 billion. It is worth noting that about half of the Soviet GDP is from military enterprises. 80% of the industry is related to the military industry, which makes its real economic strength far below the total GDP). The Soviet military has always resisted the manned mission to the moon. Defense Minister Andrei Grechenko also said:

"I don't give you people, nor give you money. I don't want to help you spend money on useless things like the government. In short, I oppose the moon landing plan."

Because of the excessive cost, the United States did not send astronauts to the moon after 1972; in 1976, the Central Committee of the CPSU passed a resolution to formally terminate the appropriation for the moon landing plan. The US-Soviet "moon landing contest" was declared over.

However, the moon-walkers of the year must not have imagined that despite the facts and history, 50 years later, the Chinese Internet still widely circulates the absurd rumor that "the United States is a scam on the moon."




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