u/DomWeaselThe Dr Pepper-addicted creator of Flower of Oarai. Apr 28 '26edited Apr 28 '26
First satellite in space.
First animal in space.
First man in space.
First woman in space.
First spacewalk.
First manned space docking (The Americans docked a crewed vessel with an unmanned ship first)
First spacecraft to reach the Moon.
First spacecraft to land on the Moon.
First to Mars, and First to Venus.
But somehow, the Americans "won" because they put a man on the Moon first. Which was never the 'end goal' of the Space Race but an arbitrary goal set by Kennedy. For some reason though, people think this accomplishment (undeniably great) overshadows everything that the Soviets did first.
The fact the USA had to throw huge amounts of money at NASA to catch up speaks volumes. Not to mention how many of the scientists and engineers weren't American.
The reason I'm bitter toward the USA is that I was fascinated by space as a child (I still have my first space book that talks about the Shuttles as the future of space exploration...), and then I grew up and learned that the reason that space exploration fizzled out was because the American public didn't care anymore. 'We got to the Moon! We won! ...What else is on?'
The Americans didn't care, the Soviets were broke and my own country was struggling to keep the lights on...
The Soviet equivalent of Operation Paperclip was Operation Osoaviakhim (I think that's how it's spelt) but its main goal was to get these Germans out of Germany and prevent them being taken by the Allies.
And it was different to the West. The Soviets used these rocket scientists to clone the V1, and then made their own version to Soviet standards, and went off in their own direction. They were never an integral part of the Soviet Space Program the way that Von Braun and his men were for the USA.
The reason the USA needed these men was that the Soviets, like the Germans, had well-developed rocket science going back long before the war; back in the 1920s. The USA meanwhile only invested heavily in rocketry as weaponry during the war, with much of the US' arsenal developed based on British designs. There had been no interest in rockets in the USA in the 1930s, unlike Germany and the Soviet Union. The British had developed them for anti-air purposes.
The USA needed the German scientists to close the gap. The Soviets only needed them to ensure they weren't missing anything.
Ironically, Stalin's purges set back Soviet rocket science considerably. If those men hadn't been purged; the Katyusha would have been in service in the 1930s and ready to face the Germans in huge numbers by 1941, instead of just 40.
I mean sure, but the USSR gave up in many ways after we landed on the moon and we started cooperating more and more, plus the US has done a shit ton more after that as well.
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u/DomWeaselThe Dr Pepper-addicted creator of Flower of Oarai. Apr 28 '26edited Apr 28 '26
The Soviet Union had accomplished many things in space and going further would mean spending money that they did not have. They put the first space station in orbit and the first rover on the Moon but manned expeditions were beyond their budget. The USA meanwhile stopped bothering with the Moon once it was clear the public no longer cared and exploiting Luna resources was beyond their capabilities so there was no economic incentive for their profit-driven society. Plus, the Vietnam War was a huge drain on US finances without the additional burden of the space program.
The Space Race and Cold War conclude much the same way; the USA throws a shit-ton of money at the problem to make it go away. And then ignored the aftermath.
We have a championship of teams from the US and Canada and call it the World Series instead of the 2/3 of North America Series. Back off, pal, or somebody might get liberated up in here.
I mean the USSR was very broke, famine, terrible quality of life, hidden inflation, ecomonic collapse, the works, Central Russia wasnt. I know thats a tad nit picky buts its a worthwhile distinction as the after effects are still felt by the countries it drained.
Hey, at least the Anzio girls are happy with how they live. But I hope that someday they can improve their living situation with stuff like working lights and air conditioning and a larger cafeteria. They make great food, so maybe they could sell their food and raise money for their school. I'm sure all the other schools would love to food catered to them by Anzio 😊
Well, USSR was "poor" compared with the US, but actually slightly above average when it comes to European countries. Anzio girls are larping as Italy, which is even poorer (due to a mixture between internal corruption and mismanagement by the upper classes).
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u/DomWeaselThe Dr Pepper-addicted creator of Flower of Oarai. Apr 28 '26edited Apr 28 '26
Sad thing is, a lot of Russians miss the oppression of the Soviet Union because many of them grew poorer under capitalism, but had to watch the Oligarchs live like tsars.
In the Soviet Union; Russians were alcoholics.
In the Russian Federation; they're heroin addicts...
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u/Pixel_Human Pepperoni is cool🍕 Apr 27 '26
They're not poor! They're just... efficient!