The Soviets were way behind on just about every technological development you can think of but in the media and government they were built up to be a big superpower. You have to go to school and be educated to get this dumb...but our leaders here in America managed to do it to us.
It was our government ..the American Government using and misusing the Soviets to frighten and intimidate the American public in the direction they needed the public to go for supporting what ever program was necessary in those days.
The very Un superpowerness of the Soviets became clear when the Iron Curtain fell. Their store shelves were mostly empty.
I was told that back before the 1980 Olympics that the United States would never come to the Moscow Olympics. And that is precisely how history played out. There was a special test group allowed to come to Russia in those days..a very inexpensive tour rate through Pan Am Airlines. This was the test group to go/travel through Russia to see what could be seen. Could Americans travel through Russia and see how un superpower it really was.
Tanks, rifles, missiles, bullets et al..do not make a super power. You must have all the other goods and have them in surplus sufficient for export. Russia had none of this. They did not even have fruit in the stores for most of the year. You could not travel to granny's without checking through one check point after another. You sign out with your Soviet...then travel to Granny''s area..check in with the Soviet in Granny's area first...then you go see Granny. The reverse to get home. En route your papers are constantly checked at different way points.
Under such an system of controls it is impossible to get fruit to the stores before much of it spoils. Economics at a profit is impossible under such an system. So how do you make rockets for space exploration?? Not just rockets but all the other high tech stuff needed for space exploration.
No one in politics nor the media were ever want to tell the public this information's.
Just go to any store in your town or city and find any goods made in Russia...even today...particularly high tech goods. What you find in abundance here in this town is Russian rifles and ammunition. These are not high tech goods.
Why did their space shuttle look like ours but never go into service?? Why did the Russians have a bomber which looked very much like a B1 swing wing bomber??
Why did Soviet Russia have a truck factory built at Kama River with western know how...International Harvester, Brown and Root and other western companies..including bank financing. This factory was to turn out trucks which were used to ship supplies down the Ho Chi Min trail during the Vietnam War...and kill our soldiers.
Why is Soviet Russia..a super power..going to the Germans to get help in building a natural gas pipeline??
A natural gas pipeline???? Is this high tech???
Where are the Russian laptops, I pods, automobiles...et al??
Whatever they were doing for a space program ...it took the whole production of their economy to do it...there were no surpluses.
The degree of difficulty of going to the moon and back...then landing in a manned operation was to much for their system.
Today the Russians have been replaced in fear tactics with Radical Islam...and in like manner ...Radical Islam must be supported from the West as was Communism. We are once again building our own enemies...as we are so doing today with Communist China.
When I worked on the 688 Class Submarine program I spoke with some engineers who came on the boat one day they told me that during the Apollo Missions there was a space docking done with Russian Astronauts. Our Engineers heard this story when at meetings with NASA Engineers. Shop talk.
During this space docking the Russians would visit our space craft and our guys would visit the Russian space craft.
Our guys were shocked to see what kind of equipment the Soviets were using to send their people up into space. Very few back up system which our people took for granted..it did not exist and their primary systems were very olde technology.
For political reasons this was kept from the knowledge of most of the American Public while maintaining the Super Power status of the Soviets.
To me this is one of the reasons the Soviets did not go to the moon. They simply could not do it. It would have taken to much out of their economy...political/economic system.
Thanks,
Orangetom
edit on 9-4-2011 by orangetom1999 because: (no reason given)
