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A fascinating insight into what might have been. Thanks for putting this out there, Nick.

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People like to talk about technology problems on the N1 program. (Me too!)

But woven through Mishin's words is the running thread of underfunding and unmeetable deadlines. It's pretty clear to me that the primary cause for failures lies with the politicians, not the engineers.

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A triumph of American central planning and a loss for Soviet market competition.

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Also, I don't know if I missed it in the post, but what was the name of the book? (The Russian title is fine.)

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Thank you for translating that! I always wondered why the Soviets were not right behind us when it came to the moon landing.

(And for the folks who haven't seen it, Apple's "For All Mankind" drama explores these themes in an alternate history, where the Soviets DID beat us to the lunar surface.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS9M52Bd_w

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Poor Vasili Mishin. He was the fall guy for the failed lunar program.

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