The ‘Space Race’ between the US and the USSR during the 1960s can kind of be looked at as a sport. The Russians took a huge early lead, being the first to successfully launch a satellite; put an animal into space (poor Laika); and, as an almost ‘nail in the coffin,’ sent famed (and consequently doomed) cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit. All the US had to offer was to launch astronaut Alan Shepard into sub-orbit; he was in the air for less than half an hour. But this massive rocket the Soviets built turned out to be their downfall.

With the successful Apollo 11 program, the US did what was needed to win what in hindsight seems like a bizarre and macabre game. The Saturn V carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon for the first successful moon landing. Where were the Soviets? While Neil and Buzz were sauntering around and playing golf on the moon, the USSR was doing what they love most: Being secretive. They designed and built a rocket called the N1, a shuttle slightly shorter than the Saturn V but with much, much, much more fire power…too much, it turned out. The American space program strapped five huge engines on the Saturn V; the Soviets went the other route and used an astonishing thirty engines.

Although they were much smaller, 24 of them were assembled into a ring for the first launch stage. Their logic seems similar to the kind used by the crazy uncle we all have who, during a July 4^th celebration, thinks it’s a good idea to put two or three superfluous mortars into the firing tube. The USSR executed four test launches of the gargantuan N1. All were disastrous, especially the mega-blaze of glory that was the second attempt. Subsequently scrapped, the program was denied until 1989, as it was seen as a huge embarrassment.

(via Jalopnik)

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Just about everyone knows about the first human moon landing in July of 1969. But not everyone knows that the American astronauts weren’t alone on the moon during that crucial trip. While they were poking around, taking soil samples and reveling in their accomplishment, a Soviet moon craft was attempting to touch down nearby on the surface of Luna.

The space race between the Soviet Union and the United States was at its height by the end of the 1960s, and both world superpowers were desperate to win. Though the USSR was first to launch a human into space, the US didn’t consider the race won until astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. When Apollo 11 was preparing to launch, it became apparent that the Soviets weren’t going to put a man on the moon first. But they did have a plan to be the first to collect samples of moon matter.

The unmanned USSR spacecraft Luna 15 launched on July 13, 1969, just three days before Apollo 11. It entered the moon’s orbit on July 17th, then attempted to touch down on the moon’s surface on July 21st – after the Americans had already set foot on the surface of the satellite. Transmissions from Luna 15 were lost just four minutes after it began its descent.

The story of Luna 15 recently came back into public eye after the voice recordings of astronomers from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England were finally made public. The recordings, made by the Jodrell Bank astronomers during Apollo 11’s mission, narrate three days of breathless anticipation as the Americans drew closer to the moon. The Jodrell Bank astronomers kept track of the progress of both Apollo 11 and Luna 15, noting when Luna 15 changed course just before its landing and sounding alarmed when the craft began to descend too rapidly. The fascinating, previously unheard recordings were made available to the public in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

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