Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974

by Asif A. Siddiqi, Nasa History Office

Taking advantage of the Soviet archives, which were opened in the 1990s, Siddiqi has written a groundbreaking work that examines why the Soviet Union fell behind in the space race of the 1960s after changing the course of human history with the first artificial satellite launch, Sputnik, in 1957.

Genres: Space, History, Science, Nonfiction, Russia

1030 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2000

Reviews

[Suraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's sobering to read this unearthed epic that is the Soviet space program. After more than half a dozen spectacular space firsts, the Soviet space program literally fell apart. What happened? How did the inaugurators of the space race fail to stand up to Apollo's challenge? How did they miss the Moon completely even after a dozen Americans walked on the Moon? And what internal factors paralysed the Soviet space enterprise?

You pretty much get every one of those questions answered, that too, in thorough detail.

After finishing this volume(yes literally), I was left both amazed and enraged. Amazed I was at the scale of activity behind Sputnik & Gagarin during the Moon race, of which the world knew almost nothing about for more than 30 years! And enraged at how institutional disarray, internal rivalries and politics eventually took over and derailed this great enterprise. It's also about one man - Sergey Korolev - who used these same loopholes to kickstart the space race that changed the world.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive history of the early days of the Soviet Space program. Decent job discussing how much of the program was beset by internal fighting between various Soviet ministries after the initial successes, and what parts of the program were actually shared outside the USSR vs. lost in secrecy. Ultimately, the book did not really bring out most of the personalities of the key players in the program which made it seem dry at times.

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece

[Cibír · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's extremely dry but you will find no better single source for the soviet space program in English. The managerial malaise makes the achievements all the more impressive.