Challenge to Apollo- Book Review
Asif Siddiqi is one of the leading Russian & Soviet space historians. His book, Challenge to Apollo: the Soviet Union and the space race, 1945-1974 is a massive volume dedicated to the pivotal years of the space race. This work covers the events before the launch of Sputnik, the events during that important time, the launch of Yuri Gagarin, the moon race, Soyuz, and the Soviet realization that landing on the moon was out of reach. The breadth of topics here is staggering, but Siddiqi has created a highly detailed and enjoyable to read history of the critical years in the Soviet space program.
At almost a thousand pages with a set of wonderfully detailed appendices, this is not a short work. However, it is important because a detailed work like this shows how big of a role politics and personal relationships played in the Soviet space program. Siddiqi writes:
On paper at least, Korolev reported through the Chairman of the State Committee for Defense Technology (Rudnev), to the Chairman of the Military-Industral Commission (Ustinov), to the Secretariat member in charge of defense industrail matters (Brezhnev), and finally to Soviet leader Khrushchev himself. By all accounts, this chain of command, especially in the case of new proposals, was merely a formality and rarely functioned as intended. Following the first launches of the R-7 and the Sputniks, Khrushchev regularly consulted with Korolev himself. The Council of Chief Designers seems not only to have exerted influence over programs that had been approved by Khrushchev, but also began to have some input into program commencements and approval. (Siddiqi p.179)
This quote is a perfect example of how dysfunctional the Soviet space program could be. Leadership changes and personal politics are common anywhere, even in NASA, but the extent they cropped up in the Soviet Union could be considered one of the reasons the Soviets were unable to reach the moon. Another example of the political conflict that embroiled the Soviet program was the events that took place after Korolev's death. Vasiliy Mishin was appointed to succeed Korolev as Chief Designer at OKB-1, but this appointment was not without trouble.
Mishin was clearly the most likely choice as a successor, having been groomed by the late Korolev for almost a decade for this position. But he did not have his predecessor's stature or clout. In fact, Mishin had somewhat of a reputation for being blunt and tactless and was not known for his diplomatic skills. (Siddiqi p.519)
Compared to NASA administrator James Webb, who masterfully maneuvered the American program, the stumbling of Mishin, during the height of the space race is striking. Between the technical failures of the N1 rocket and the deficiency of the Soviet leadership in government and technical positions, these were the key factors that prevented the Soviets from getting to the moon.
This book, while long, was extremely enjoyable to read, but the full enjoyment of a work like this one comes after rereading a second or third time. The amount of connections between this work and the other works I've read this semester make this the single best book of my independent study. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, some of the most agreeable moments of my life have been spent in reading works of imagination, and there is nothing that gets the imagination going more than learning how humanity reached the stars.
Challenge to Apollo- Amazon.com
Featured Image- A collection of Soviet space propaganda.