You’re looking a small-number statistics, and you really can’t draw large-scale conclusions from small numbers of data points. Three of the four cosmonauts who died in space were lost in the same incident, when a valve failed and let all the air out of their spacecraft. The fourth, Vladimir Komarov, went in a spacecraft that he knew was riddled with technical flaws and would probably kill him. He went in order to save his friend and national hero, Yuri Gagarin, who was certain to go if he did not.
Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage'
It is true that the Russians took horrendous risks and were under terrible pressure; but so did NASA. The Russians also assumed that the US would do two or three more practice missions before trying to actually land on the moon. They didn’t expect the US to go from a LM engine test above the moon’s surface (Apollo 10) directly to a landing (Apollo 11). Even the Russians thought that was taking an insane risk.
Bottom line: the answer to your question is that NASA got very lucky, and the USSR was unlucky. That’s about all that can be said.
Read other answers by Ernest W. Adams on Quora:
- Why are space suits still bulky?
- What would happen to the future of our space technology if NASA is suddenly hit by a big meteor and destroyed everything and killed all the brilliant scientists that we have?
- Are there any lost cosmonauts in the space?
from Quora http://ift.tt/2idL8A4
No comments:
Post a Comment