""Already in 1945, we were talking about satellites," Yuri Mozhorin, a veteran of the Soviet rocket development program, told Popular Mechanics. Mozhorin's older colleague in rocketry, Mikhail Tikhonravov, even thought up a plan to fashion a piloted rocket ship out of the V-2 and launch it to the edge of space. Recently declassified documents reveal that Tikhonravov's bosses within the Soviet aviation industry took his plan seriously enough to send it right to the desk of Joseph Stalin in June 1946. But after a short flirtation with space flight, the Soviet military leadership focused on the V-2's more destructive capability. In fact, at the beginning of the 1950s, any talk of a satellite or space exploration inside the Soviet missile research centers could get you in serious trouble. All space dreams were considered subversive and distracting from the main overarching goal—the military missiles."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Anatoly Zak, “The Rocket That Launched Sputnik and Started the Space Race“, Popular Mechanics, (Oct 4, 2017).
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Space_exploration
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Space exploration
44 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Space exploration →
Related Quotes
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
"The rockets that have made spaceflight possible are an advance that, more than any other technological victory of the…"
"With a partnership that includes 15 nations and with 68 nations currently using the ISS [International Space Station]…"
"Everything in space obeys the laws of physics. If you know these laws, and obey them, space will treat you kindly. An…"
"There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program: Your tax dollar will go farther."
"If our intention had been merely to bring back a handful of soil and rocks from the lunar gravel pit and then forget …"
"I'm convinced that before the year 2000 is over, the first child will have been born on the moon."
"We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare fo…"
"Returning to the moon is an important step for our space program. Establishing an extended human presence on the moon…"
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."