Hi Chris,
Thanks for providing the heads up on this documentary. There was some excellent
archival footage, some good interviews and nicely done animations. Really worth
watching and the Chernobyl connection at the end was fascinating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omaroo
I come away with the impression that the Russians were way ahead of the Americans in many ways. Whilst Armstrong and Aldrin battled 1201 errors on their way down to the surface, the Lunokhod lander did it all by itself. The vehicles were incredibly sophisticated by any standards. Brilliant!
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Though the Lunokhods were a technical triumph, it is also worth remembering the
large number of failures the Soviets had in attempting unmanned soft landings
during the same period that saw the Americans driving the Lunar Rover around
and Alan Shepard hitting a golf ball.
For example, you my remember the mystery and secrecy that surrounded
the orbiting of the Moon by Luna 15 at exactly the same time Apollo 11 was
orbiting. Everyone was wondering what the Soviets were up to. The drama
of this event continued up to just a few hours before Armstrong and Aldrin
lifted off from the Moon in the ascent stage of the Eagle when Luna 15
impacted into the Lunar surface. At the time, TASS simply reported that
it had completed its mission. The reality was that it had failed. Its real mission
had been to attempt to soft land, retrieve a sample and return it to Earth,
thus trumping the Americans. Likewise the Soviets had failed in missions in
February and July of 1969 prior to that and failed three more times after Luna 15.
It wasn't until Luna 16 in Sept of 1970 that the Soviets managed to retrieve
100g of moon dust. By then, Apollo 11 had retrieved 21.5kg and Apollo 12
had retrieved 34.3kg.
In the period up to Apollo 11, the Americans had already achieved five
successful unmanned soft landings on the Moon whilst the Soviets
had achieved none.
Then there was the ill-fated N1, the Soviets answer to the Saturn V.
When the second N1 exploded on 3rd July 1969, it also took out the launch
tower. With an estimated blast equivalent to about 6 kilotons, it has the dubious
distinction of possibly being the largest non-nuclear explosion to ever be caused
by man.
If I still had a DVD recorder that my ex-wife decided to scarper off with I'd record it and send it up to you. Sorry 
this is the price we pay for Dark Sky's
no TV and Crap broadband
