Re: Socialists in Space [Re: China aims for moon]

"Geoffrey A. Landis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Henry Spencer wrote:
> > ... Some of us dream of going far beyond Apollo.  That can't be done
> > by a
> > socialist bureaucratic empire, no matter what flag it flies.
>
> Many people on the newsgroup believe that as a matter of faith.  Oddly,
> though, the evidence so far is the opposite: a socialist bureaucratic
> empire-- the Soviet Union-- in fact made *ENORMOUS* strides in space,
> taking on a much richer capitalist democracy and, for nearly a decade,
> coming out looking very good.
>
> Their success seems to be due to several factors:
> 1. a brilliant chief designer (Sergei Korolev) with real authority over
> the management.
> 2. national commitment from the very top
> 3. willingness to take risk.
> 4. ability to work in secret and only announce successes, thus, not
> being arm-chair engineered by bystanders.


5) ability to turn their disadvantages (no long-range bombers, no
light-weight metals) into their advantage (big boosters NOW)

6) strict adherence to the KISS principle

7) deep understanding that it's better to look good than to be good (thus
all the flights that were really sheer stunts but looked like giant leaps
forward to the rest of the world)

-- 
Terrell Miller
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

"Very often, a 'free' feedstock will still lead to a very expensive system.
One that is quite likely noncompetitive"
- Don Lancaster