Soviet Moon Rockets & The Mercury 13 - Real History Behind 'For All Mankind's Alternative History

[@TheZoltan-42]

In the series timeline we reach the 2010s, where Scott Manley, CEO of Flight Scrape Ltd, wins yet another military order for advanced anti-air missiles and using the profits, he retires playing Herbal Taste Program, a gastronomy simulation game. Meanwhile, KosmosX lands a returning first stage in front of the Kremlin, to celebrate Putin winning Amnesty International's "Golden Knight" award for the fifth year in succession. Boeing delivers the SLS system six months ahead of schedule.

[@zhongxina5627]

Best comment ever.

[@TheTeufelhunden68]

so neow body told you to abrpigherd Sntenas. YUR an ecpertt.

[@Brixxter]

Nice comment. The SLS part had me dying

[@Krzysztof_z_Bagien]

Noone would ever belive something like this. SLS ahead of schedule? Come on, man :D

[@CaseyFinSF]

@@Krzysztof_z_Bagien Couldn't have said it better myself👍🏻

[@mikehauncho4874]

"For all Soviet people around the world, for all workers... whatever." - First Russian on the Moon 5:12

[@davidwuhrer6704]

It would actually have been "for all mankind". Except in Russian, of course.

[@noop9k]

David Wührer of course not for all mankind, capitalists have to be eradicated! :) Soviets were always (officially) saying things like “for the workers of the world” and other such bullshit.

[@noop9k]

Tosik Lol, what a bullshit

[@lmaoroflcopter]

@@noop9k have you watched the show? Because there is already a plotline developing around that. USA TV reported: "for the Marxist lennenist movement" Russian Astronaut: "it's the moon, like we said, it's for everyone."

[@nikolabobic661]

@@davidwuhrer6704 lmao no way

[@arendellecitizen208]

I've seen the first episode and clearly the main cause for all the american space programm failers was the fact, that Gene wasn't wearing one of his lucky white vests

[@scottmanley]

A well thought out, intelligent and funny comment from someone who actually watched the show.

[@berlindude75]

The final six episodes were truly awesome, particularly for all the action scenes in space. It's IMO the best show currently on AppleTV+.

[@TheGreatDrAsian]

SRB's for landing stability, you say...? Time to mock that up in KSP lol

[@AM-hf9kk]

That's one way to eliminate the "Minmus Bounce."

[@DaveF.]

Could be tricky - see Hajile

[@dylanjohnstone5119]

Actually with the suspension on kerbal landing gear it would propably result in a bigger rebound or death by kracken

[@lohring]

It seems to me that Gordo and Tracy Stevens are modeled after Gordon Cooper and Trudy Olson Cooper. She was the only astronaut wife who was a pilot and they had a stormy relationship that ended in divorce.

[@odysseusrex5908]

That's interesting. the fact that she was a pilot is most definitely not brought out in The Right Stuff, either the book or the movie. That would have been an interesting detail to have mentioned.

[@isaachoffman2607]

Odysseus Rex they made Right Stuff into a movie? Damn I should watch that

[@minhducnguyen674]

What's she's based on a real person? No wonder why I feel her character so real and unreal at the same time

[@lohring]

@@minhducnguyen674 She was a real person. The only information I know of is in the book The Astronauts Wives Club.

[@TheChillLefty]

I find the idea of von Braun being pushed out because the organization became more militarized a bit incongruous. I don't think he would be ill equipped to readjust back to working under military patronage.

[@audience2]

It is very ridiculous

[@MollyGermek]

It's amazing they didn't try to find _more_ Nazis in that alternate history.

[@scottmanley]

The real Von Braun also drove desegregation programs at NASA www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744023616/as-nasas-apollo-space-program-grew-alabama-was-pressured-to-desegregate

[@Swarm509]

I haven't seen the show but was he pushed out because he was a former Nazi or just because he wasn't within the military being just a US citizen/civilian? I would assume the military would still be using civilian companies as contractors so he should still be able to design/work on space program items. I imagine he would still be pushing hard for his Mars mission.

[@freezatron]

this show is not shy about denigrating historical figures who did good things ... or at least just the straight white men, because it's ok these days to do that if not indeed applauded ....

[@planetdisco4821]

I binge watched it last night and I have to say, it’s awesome! I love how it steadily diverges from our own timeline and leads to technological and social differences. Great show!

[@Jarhead6322]

You know what the most underrated part of this channel is? Non toxic comments section that has a lot of discussion about germane subjects.

[@AndreiKucharavy]

Great video! The "technical difficulties paled in comparison to the difficulties to get the teams working together and gaining political leverage" is the best TLDR; of the Soviet (and current ex-USSR countries) engineering difficulties I've heard so far. Besides, as for Appollo X, I believe they were not carrying enough fuel to re-take off in case of landing - specifically to discourage the team to attempt to land before the carefully selected Appollo 11 team was send in.

[@Rabarbarzynca]

Seeing Korolev in the last episode was such a great nerd gem. This series got those in spades, Sea Dragon, alternative Soyuz-Apollo and all, but showing Korolev was the best one so far.

[@SimplySpace]

Funnily enough, I just watched "The Engines that came in from the cold" This is a good follow on 👍🏻

[@motokid6008]

That's on Amazon too! Woot! Always been looking to watch this in decent quality. Last I saw it was on KZbin at 480p.

[@Astro_Ape]

Was it any good??.... BTW, love your channel Simply Space! Keep it up!!

[@TheAziz]

On the less fictional side, I highly recommend a book "Chasing the Moon" by Robert Stone, which is amazing story about how the dream of flying to space and to the Moon became real.

[@jimoberg3326]

Concur, there's a lot to like in the book. The drumbeat of 'what-about-Nazis?' and 'NASA was mean to women and minorities' is a bit tiresome.

[@b4nes]

Zefram Cochrane Jacqueline Cochran THERE IS ANOTHER

[@dosmastrify]

Ever read the book star trek Federation? Totally different from first contact but still a decrnt read!

[@RWBHere]

She might have inspired his name.

[@DrumToTheBassWoop]

Watch the space for any scientists specialising in rocket technology with the name Cochran. 👀

[@MrStanwyck]

The show is awesome!!!!! It’s interesting to see what could have changed in the space race if we weren’t the first to the moon. Looking forward to season 3.

[@headcrab4090]

Rocket scientists of the world, unite!

[@c187rocks]

I'm glad you caught that Teddy part because I have a feeling that's going to play into future episodes.

[@keithmcintyre6403]

Lol, only geeks would pick up on some of those details.... Scott, you are one of my most trusted space news sources.... Keep up the great videos....🤓😎

[@PTNLemay]

5:00 That is so cool, and genius. I really want to recreate this in KSP now.

[@Psycorde]

People been using similar methods in videogames with vehicle construction to make wall/ceiling crawlers for a long time now, it's pretty cool But only viable with limitless fuel, of course, since you need consistent thrust over a long period of time to be able to move on these surfaces without falling off

[@sheep1ewe]

A massive thank You for sharing those pieces of history! (And a special thank You for mention the history around Jerrie Cobb, a realy interesting carracter, in my opinion she deserve better than just be forgotten in the past.)

[@isaachoffman2607]

“Drove his car into a lake” yup, little problem

[@thelanavishnuorchestra]

I'm still ticked off they stole the title of the movie of the actual footage of the Apollo moon landings for a fictional series.

[@lmaoroflcopter]

Why? It's a fictional adaptation of the true story and the phrase is the core plotline for the entire series. That movie, stole it from Neil Armstrong's speech. And he stole it from JFK.

[@neithere]

Королёв is not "ko-ROL-lee-yef", it's "ko-ro-LÖF". Алексей Леонов is not "ah-LEK-si LEE-on-of" but "ah-lek-SAY lee-ON-of"...

[@abelzatyko1513]

Isn't it more like ko-rol-YOV? At least they taught us way back when that ë was supposed to be pronounced like that.

[@mysterymete]

If you crazy bastards would use real letters, it wouldn't be a problem.

[@linarionschonmar1572]

I just think it would sound weird if he did a more russian pronounciation as it would break his speech pattern. For example: If i speak english I never use the german pronounciation for words like Hamburg or Berlin as I find it weird and it causes me to make a kind of mental pause. What i am trying to say is: the way Scott pronounces Korolev and Leonev is much better suited for the english language than if he would stay true to the russian way. I do appreciate the info tho :)

[@robgoodsight6216]

@@linarionschonmar1572 Gut gesagt! :D to every language...its pronunciation!

[@jasoncdebussy]

@@digitalk68 No, it's not disrespectful at all.

[@Sonikkua]

It’s definitely a fun show, and well worth checking out for those of us that enjoy historical “what if’s”.

[@bthsr7113]

What ifs are my jam.

[@llamallama1509]

@@bthsr7113 But what if they weren't?

[@arthousefilms]

Thanks, Scott. Looking forward to this video. I was hoping it was going to be about Voyager 2's news about exiting the solar system. Thanks for this one!

[@scottmanley]

How many times has it exited? Duly noted, I'll pencil in an update about that.

[@RUNDNB85]

@@scottmanley he's a bit slow on that news, 1 year ago yesterday it reached interstellar space.

[@markuop]

@@RUNDNB85 No need to be condescending. "Science" news website are releasing articles about the subject. This person probably hasn't picked up the fact that it was only a confirmation over analysis of data from last year. I'm sure you never make any mistake...

[@RUNDNB85]

@@markuop who said I was being condescending, simply pointing out his mistake and he obviously didn't read the article because it would state when we crossed into ism.

[@ZakisHereNow]

Just binge watched the whole series and loved it. Great, great... show!

[@dallas_barr]

Haha, did the same thing after last Scott's video about using the Space Shuttle for Moon Transfer. Really enjoyed the show also.

[@marcysss93]

The series is great, I really enjoyed it and can recommend, the space scenes are fantastic. If you love space, starships etc you will love it , ps. alternate stories too

[@ascherlafayette8572]

I like it but the astronaut training is a joke. They shove people into dangerous vehicles without giving them any training. And the special effects are really bad sometimes.

[@Kevin_Street]

I really enjoyed the first episode of "For All Mankind," _especially_ the very last scene. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say that it merged a part of real history with fiction and ended up making something that felt like it came right out of Kerbal Space Program. Kind of gets you thinking about how things could have gone.

[@terrencegoens1582]

That moment when Scot talks about watchmen got me to happy. I worked that show as a cop it was so much fun to film

[@scottmanley]

Cool.. I guess you're a guy in a yellow mask?

[@terrencegoens1582]

@@scottmanley yes sir theres a few episodes that I got to do some arrest and be apart of scenes with cool cg stuff but that's towards episode 5 and 6

[@thefurrybstard1964]

I loved it. The way it used all the stuff I remember from my childhood in different situations. The nostalgia trip coupled with a great story arc had me utterly hooked.

[@robinmccullars4971]

Thanks Scott. Keep it up.

[@larrybuzbee7344]

Hello Scott, thanks for another great episode, and now, if you will allow, for something completely different. I've been discussing with some people on the LabPadre Discord, the questions posed below and hope that you will find the time to weigh in in your typical pithy style; What do you think about the giant window array shown in SpaceX renders near the nose of Starship? To me this is clearly far more complex, heavy, vulnerable to failure, subject to undesirable thermal and optical excursions and far more costly than a mostly continuous steel hull. I understand the psycological and aesthetic reasons for real windows, but the engineering and economic tradeoffs would seem to argue for using some form of internal display (projetors, screens, head mounted displays, etc) in place of spaceworthy windows, to give passengers the impression of seeing outside without poking a giant hole in the hull to accomodate the large panoramic forward window panels. In Mars transit, I believe there are technical means other than windows that could be devised to provide a sufficiently immersive experience to at least equal that of widows, while also using fewer, more modestly sized transparent windows for direct passive observation where necessary or desirable to minimize costs and risks while serving the needs of the passengers for a sense of connection to space. It is also true that such means could provide an immersive sense of connection to orher places as, such as locales on Earth or Mars or any place else with appropriately formatted video files. This would provide psycological benefits passive windows cannot. In LEO and Lunar excursion modes perhaps there are compelling economic and aesthetic arguments enough to outweigh the risks and costs of traditional spaceworthy windows. Anyway, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. Will the giant window ever fly?

[@sammys_stuff4248]

I love the idea of alternative histories! Asking the question of "what would happen if America lost the space race" is one I've asked myself before and this show seems like something that I'll enjoy a lot. I'll have to check it out some time and thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[@MrNeptunebob]

Scott have you done or will do a video about the 1968 movie "Countdown" where an astronaut goes to the moon in a Gemini spacecraft? He finds a deceased Soviet cosmonaut on the moon and I read that the idea of using Gemini might have been considered for the moon.

[@johncrowerdoe5527]

Gemini was a testing and training program for Apollo. It is where they perfected such things as docking the LM to the CM and doing spacewalks. Reusing more Gemini components in Apollo could have been a crunch option if some critical Apollo subproject failed to deliver, but the 1968 movie date suggest that the studio simply lacked ideas of actual Apollo design at the time of writing and filming.

[@X-JAKA7]

9:53 Is that Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L in the background?? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jackee-is-silent2938]

Apollo 10's Lunar Module, as well as Apollo 9's, was an early model from before the super weight reduction program and really couldn't be used for a lunar landing.

[@darrellcherry9172]

Just realized you have the ship from The Last Starfighter in the background, very cool.

[@Snuckster2]

one of the most underrated movies of the 80s and the premise came around at the perfect time in my young childhood. The music is CRIMINALLY underrated oh and the Gunstar is similar to Babylon 5 Starfury in that they seem somewhat plausible designs

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@Snuckster2 I just loved seeing Robert Preston. He made anything he was in good.

[@joshuaupham5993]

Apple TV? Never heard of it. How many streaming services do we need?

[@snuffeldjuret]

probably as many as kinds of serial :).

[@richardhead1727]

I love that intro

[@lewismcluskey9811]

Where can I get that starship model in the background

[@rhover]

might be from Oli Braun www.buzzspacemodels.com/

[@predatoruy]

I’ll rather watch “From the Earth to the Moon” again.

[@justinsisson9864]

Just finished watching from the earth to the moon for the second time recently 👍

[@scottmanley]

It's a fine show, but I don't need to keep rewatching the same thing.

[@justinsisson9864]

@@scottmanley I may have to check this new show out after all : )

[@tomf3150]

I'd rather read the book (J. Vernes) again.

[@motokid6008]

Im so glad that finally made it onto Amazon.

[@Yorickje1234]

The N-1 sure is aesthetically pleasing!

[@bcubed72]

Yes; it's one hell of an awesome fireworks display!

[@snuffeldjuret]

it sure is!

[@odysseusrex5908]

I agree, beautiful rocket.

[@henrikoskela]

Crude looking but hot staging would have been amazing looking

[@sketchesofpayne]

God, no. It looks like a toy.

[@countzero1136]

Is it just me or is the audio level really low on this video?

[@davecoz4227]

@Scott Manley did you see the post credit scene at the end of the last episode? It was the sea launch of some giant rocket? Do you know anything about what this would have been based on?

[@underman77]

It's the Sea Dragon rocket concept: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)

[@mike30534]

Scott, sometimes the moniker "Loud American" is both earned and deserved, even here in the states. You mentioned the revision of history where Ted Kennedy doesn't drive off the bridge on Martha's Vineyard. Had that actually been the case, there might be less friction between the Deep South of the US and the much more proper New Englanders. Several years ago on a day trip from Hyannis, MA to Martha's Vineyard I paid a fare to ride a school bus around the island that was driven by a summer volunteer. When I hit the first step of the bus the driver asked in a very clipped New England accent where I wanted to go. Without hesitation, I expressed my desire to ride out to Edgartown to visit the Ted Kennedy Underwater Driving School. The cold stare I received instead of the expected chuckle knocked me back off that first step and back into the parking lot!

[@hermannabt8361]

I have no real interest in the show, but I always thought the Apollo Venus flyby would have been NASA/America's triumph over the Soviet union if the Soviets had landed first. Does it appear in the show?

[@scottmanley]

Almost immediately one of the characters is assigned to planning this and other ideas for the Apollo applications program.

[@ant9944]

Scott Manley didn’t the Soviets plan such a flyby with a nuclear upper stage on the N1? Because in this scenario the Soviets could even beat them to this.

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

@@ant9944 Yep, The original N1 plann was as a flyby for Mars/Venus

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

They mention it in the show But they don't seem to be headed in that direction SkyLab is being retrofitted to function as a millitary MoonBase for 3 astronauts instead of a space station

[@spaceflighthistory5362]

Everything about the n1 is explained in the documentary "Чарь Ракета прерванный полёт". Years before JFK made his famous "we choose to go to the moon" speech, Korolev was interested and planned a mission on mars, for 3 or even 4 cosmonauts. He believed the N1 was the rocket needed. Also the plan of the mission is very interesting.

[@MonsterSound.Bradley]

Episode 04 is my favourite so far. The tribute to Jerrie Cobb in the end credits is a very nice touch. P.S. You should have mentioned that this video contains spoilers. Just sayin'😎

[@alphasixty1316]

The WAPO podcast "Moonrise" is a very well done series. Main focus is the on the politics and the influence of Science Fiction on the "Space Race"

[@SimplySpace]

Usually, I don't watch shows like this but if you approve I might have to give it a watch.

[@tkbyte]

Nice summation, good show. What could have been..., but probably couldn't have been. It makes it more enjoyable in a way, I think.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Thanks Scott...You are the best...!

[@slimj091]

I'm surprised scott didn't bring up the Sea Dragon scene.

[@justgjt]

I read that they deliberately under fueled the the decent stage of the Apollo 10 LEM so the astronauts could not attempt a landing at all for that mission.

[@silaskuemmerle2505]

They probably wouldn't have attempted it anyway, you didn't become a test pilot by disregarding orders.

[@jimoberg3326]

It's just not true, they had to reproduce stage mass at the segments they were practicing.

[@freezatron]

they could have used other stuff to simulate stage mass... and yeah, they under fueled it but that said test pilots are some of the most disciplined people around take Scott Crossfield for instance, he had the chance to be the first man to fly the X15 into space on his last flight but wasn't in the schedule so he didn't ..

[@owensmith7530]

The Apollo 10 LEM was too heavy to land and return to orbit, it couldn't have carried enough fuel to do it. Grumman were still working on getting the weight down.

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@freezatron I have never read that they underfueled. It is not mentioned in 'We Reach The Moon" or by Michael Collins in his memoir, 'Carrying the Fire' (Both highly recommended by the way). What is your source for this?

[@HGRvSBG]

10:53 You mean drove his car into a lake... AND let a girl drown due to his own cowardice and not wanting to get into trouble? That time?

[@Dadecorban]

"Allegedly" ^.^

[@paulhaynes8045]

I remember a bumper sticker at the time of the Three Mile Island incident that read "More people were killed at Chappaquiddick than at Three Mile Island"

[@HGRvSBG]

@@paulhaynes8045 Great bumper sticker!

[@JB-ym4up]

Makes you wonder how he got rid of her in the alternate time line.

[@johncrowerdoe5527]

@@JB-ym4up Maybe he didn't.

[@aerospacenews]

Had not known about the space walk required to get into/out of the descent/ascent module/lander in the proposed Soviet lunar effort. That is crazy.

[@phuzz00]

IIRC the original plan was to to land an unmanned LK first. Then they'd also land a modified Lunokhod to check out the unmanned lander, and make sure it was ok for use as a backup. Then they'd try and get the manned lander as close as possible to the backup, and if something went wrong in the landing (say, too many boulders on the landing site?), the cosmonaut would be driven to the backup lander on the back of the Lunokhod rover. All pretty Kerbal ;) Edit, I've just double checked, and they would have launched TWO Lunokhod's, one to check out the backup landing site before the LK-R landed, and one to check out the intended manned landing site.

[@jeffvader811]

@@phuzz00 That's kinda like the Mars Direct plan with the two ERVs.

[@aerospacenews]

@@phuzz00 It would have been an epic adventure had they actually made it far enough along to try their plan. Thanks for the additional details.

[@anonymous_bacon2383]

I have been replaying the intro for 10 minutes now

[@BlahBleeBlahBlah]

I haven’t watched it yet, but it’s honestly the one reason I subscribed to Apple TV+. I’m going to start the series ASAP :-)

[@Joopyter724]

This was uploaded on my birthday

[@yellowrose0910]

11:38 "Mission control looks really good but there's all sort of minor things [wrong with it]". I love your videos! The "Creating the World: Season 1" extra offered under the Episode List on Apple TV+ says at 00:50 "[Steve Oster, Co-Executive Producer] ...the Mission Control set... is an exact replica of the original Mission Control at NASA circa 1969. Our art department has made this to the square inch [sic]. [Former? Astronaut Garrett Reisman Technical Advisor] The attention to detail is unbelievable and the accuracy is incredible. Especially in Mission Control. The hinges on the door, the color of the paint, the pens on the desk. It's perfect down to the smallest detail" and goes on even more. So, I'm a fan of the show BUT I BELIEVE *YOU*! *WHAT* didn't they get right?! Inquiring minds want to know!

[@LEDewey_MD]

Learned some fascinating new history!

[@theophrastusbombastus8019]

I doubt Korolev surviving would have brought the Soviets on the moon before the US. It was Korolev himself to struck down the test stand of the N1. The Soviets resolved their Moon plans only in late 1964, by that time the F-1 was ready and the Soviets still did not abandon completely work on a LEO space station. In 1966 when Korolev died a month later NASA flight tested the J-2 while the F-1 had long completed ground testing, conversely the USSR had not sent a man in space since almost a year and would not send one for yet another year after.

[@JippaJ]

Low volume?

[@StarmanGStarmanG]

30 engines, wow. Good job on your countin’ Scott, I couldn’t count all of those because of the size of that. Thanks for saying that.

[@KnighteMinistriez]

That sounds like an interesting idea of historical fiction. I would like to watch that. I have always wondered would happen if the Apollo Missions went as planned, but Apollo 1 didn't have that accident/tragedy, Apollo 13 was able to land on the Moon, and after the Apollo missions wrapped up Russia continued forward with their Moon missions and tried to one up the Americans with a Russian Moon base. How well would that historical fiction go down? What do you think would happen?

[@odysseusrex5908]

Well, I'll say this, if the Apollo 1 fire had not happened, the first landing still would not have been before mid 1969 because the Lunar Module simply was not ready before then.

[@RuudErik]

Mr Manley, I am questioning your sanity in choosing to come to Illinois in the middle of November. On the other hand I am really looking forward to hearing you speak in person.

[@WolfTronix]

When and where?

[@RuudErik]

@@WolfTronix www.nise.us/conf-2019-free.html I found out about it through SpaceXcentrics recent video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a52tlpZjlt-qaZI

[@caonabo2]

Great video, very interesting thank you commander Manley

[@caonabo2]

@@linyenchin6773 Commander Manley is in charged of engineering via Kerbal Space Software. I'm the political officer (for both KGB and CIA) Any more questions and you'll become the first human satellite. Without life support.🔥🚀🛰⛄☄

[@caonabo2]

@@linyenchin6773 Ok, I'll talk to my guys, we will "suspend" your joyride. For now.

[@Ellipsis780]

Thanks for the review. I was wondering if it was worth watching. But I get tired of people sitting around talking kind of shows. I tend to fall asleep. So, it's not looking good for it or the other shows on that streaming service. Foundation was looking interesting. Sign up for yet another streaming service just for For All Mankind and Foundation?

[@scottmanley]

If you buy an Apple device you get free access for a year.

[@StephenBoyd21]

I've just started watching the show. No doubt I am watching more from an entertainment slant than you might be but I'm really enjoying it. The end of episode one was a real heart stopped. It was like WHAT! What on earth happens now.

[@MrGonzonator]

Can you please +++ the sound?

[@ak101farhan]

Long live Scott Manly !

[@5Andysalive]

Woman were also excluded from the active US military (jet pilots). And since the president himself ordered that only experienced test pilots could be astronauts, Nasa simply didn't have the option. And when the first scientists astronauts came in with lower demands on flight experience, Apollo was practically over and the infamous gap to the shuttle happened. The very same issue with non-white Astronauts (and general Nasa employees*). They were not excluded from the military but they were very rare. I think over the 70's and 80's Nasa rapidly overtook the soviets on the female astronaut count. Very interesting btw is the Story of Valentina Tereshkova. The russians had the same test-Pilot-only rule. But because they wanted to pull of this PR stunt, they lowered that. Once. Mrs. Tereshkovas sole qualification was, that she was an amateur parachute jumper (they landed by individual parachutes back then). After she flew and the "first" was ticked off, the 3 woman training for cosmonaut realised quickly that they would not get any other chance to fly. The PR was done, the "first" was in the bag and the boys club that ran the program was not only not interested, it was mostly heavily opposed to them. There wasn't another femal cosmonaut for a VERY long time. The political games, to prevent that make it also very hard to judge Tereshkovas performance. Unofficial accounts and reviews of Tereshkovas performance were a LOT more critical than the public ones. But since there was a strong movement against (more) female flights, it's not clear how true that was. It's very likely at least exaggerated to make it look a bad idea. Apparently Korelev was ok with female astronauts but he was pretty much alone in this and wasn't interested so much that he would fight for it.

[@5Andysalive]

*Because of the civil rights movement and racial unrest™ Nasa actually demanded from the late 60's onwards of it's facilities to employ a certain percentage of black people. Engineers, technicians, scientists and so on. And that ran into the same problem. Especially in the south. Von Braun who ran Marshall in Alabama had this problem. There simply weren't any. Because there were no (realistic) opportunities locally to get that education. And which black engineeer would move to 60's Alabama.... So Marshall missed that quota. Badly. Von Braun actually had several personal massive crashes with and spoke out very publicly against the (popular) racist, pro segregation anti- black education gouvernor of Alabama. It's fair to say they did not like each other. And without context you'd struggle to identify the former member of a extremely racist ideology. That went way beyond what was wise for Von Braun in the political game. There are a hell of a lot of levels more to Von Braun than just the Nazi thing. And obviously there was no segregation within the Marshal Space flight center and other NAsa facilities. Sources mainly Power to Explore: A History of Marshall Space Flight Center by Stephen P. Waring. And Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space, for the first part. Which also deals extensively with the whole rather surreal Lovelace issue. And all the other Us AND soviet astro and cosmonauts. Although the focus becomes more the US thing. But also because there are MUCH better sources for that side.

[@jeffvader811]

@@5Andysalive Interesting! Von Braun's political views have always been a bit of a hot topic but I never heard about his political activism.

[@5Andysalive]

​@@jeffvader811 Not just political. It is very hard to find anybody who worked with him in the US or lived near him who has a bad word to say about him. He also did a lot for the local community. I think it's fair to say von Braun was a classical case of scientist/engineer who to achieve his goals and work on his favourite thing just did or ignored everything that came with it. Then again, when you take historical hindsight out when judging him and his actions, things get a lot more complicated. And that is the only way you ever should judge historical figures. He built weapons for a army during a war. He is part of a tragically large club with that. When he started working for the army to get more funding, that was years before the Nazis and the War. When he joined the Party to keep his career, as you do in a dictatorship, he didn't know what we know now... That was also before the war. Only when he later joined the SS for the same reason (they ran the rocket program now) he was probably aware of nasty things going on. That well connected, that smart, there is no way he wouldn't. And he was definitely aware of the horrible "working" condidtions in the SS run facilities that mass produced the V2 and he didn't speak out, tried to change things or left the program. That and only that is what you can blame him for, without hindsight. Or if you blame scientists for building weapons then please ALL of them. Korelev had pretty much the same career. Except for a nasty Gulag episode. Only the soviets took out what knowledge they could from their german rocket scientists and engineers and than sent them home. If they were lucky. Had their been a nuclear war, rockets these two (and others) build, would have killed millions. And both where smart enough to be fully aware of that. These rockets would have done so with hardware from other Scientists and Engineeers who didn't care. Like Teller and Oppenheimer. Who, despite their german-ish names, were american.

[@jeffvader811]

@@5Andysalive I'll have to pick up those books you mentioned at some point, they sound fascinating. As someone with German heritage myself I'm not as quick as perhaps others are to judge people based on their involvement with the Nazi party. At the time it was very much a risky move not to attend the Hitler Youth or accept positions in the party, most people played along just to keep a low profile and avoid prosecution. It's a complicated moral issue, wether or not valuing one's own head above others is excusable, but I image Von Braun realised that had he refused or objected he merely would've been replaced, so he might as well carry on, unless of course he didn't see an issue with it, of which I am not certain.

[@5Andysalive]

@@jeffvader811 They sure are. Obviously they are historical books not thrillers. :) But Trailblazers is written in a relatively entertaining form. Also interesting is Stages to Saturn By Roger e. Bilstein. Amazing how many details about the Saturn Rocket development, building and logistics i never thought about.

[@AluminumOxide]

Nice rocket storage shelf

[@Jay-ln1co]

For the happiness of all mankind.

[@hyperiondan]

@Scott Manley, not sure if youtube changed something (again), but i did not get any notification or alert of this video..

[@scottmanley]

Do you have notifications enabled, you can be a subscriber without that being set

[@hyperiondan]

@@scottmanley i do, which is why i was surprised not to have gotten a notification, will 'turn it off and back on again' looking forward to future videos.

[@Shadowkey392]

So Scott, what do you think of the show now? I’m curious to get your take on what they’ve done.

[@StellarAudyssey]

Got a follow up video in the works for this show? Would be keen to hear your thoughts. Just completed it, far from perfect, but still looking forward to season two.

[@DaedalusCommunity]

7:24 the race for the BASS!! SLAP LIKE NOW!

[@isaachoffman2607]

I just started watching for all mankind and it is awesome.

[@parsias5381]

Just finished Season 2 and really enjoyed it. Buran referenced heavily. Would be interesting to revisit and get your perspective.

[@matchesburn]

6:49 Is it true that NASA specifically didn't fuel the lander on Apollo 10 so as to curb any ideas the crew might've had about landing?

[@odysseusrex5908]

Somebody mentioned that idea further up thread. All I can say is that I have never seen that mentioned in any history of Apollo I have ever read. In his memoirs, Michael Collins makes no mention of any such thing, but does speculate about how tempting it must have been for them, and says that Tom Stafford was just the right kind of crazy to do it.

[@daviddredge1178]

It was also too heavy to lift off again

[@countzero1136]

I've heard this mentioned in a couple of documentaries but I don't know if this has ever been confirmed

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@daviddredge1178 That's interesting. Why was it any heavier than any other LM?

[@daviddredge1178]

@@odysseusrex5908 As I understand it they were in the middle of a major lightening program as it was still too heavy to lift off the moon and dock with sufficient safety margins.

[@sammau5308]

This intro is still the best intro known to life.

[@danielduarte6086]

Your voice was a bit low on this video. Regardless, another great content

[@ryanhamstra]

Im a bit mixed on it. For example, the whole drama around apollo 10 having been able to land on the moon is wrong since they didnt give them enough fuel to avoid what happens in the show. But they have some cool details like how dangerous the luner landing practice rig is, and at one point they are in the simulator and the gal is entering nouns and verbs to program the computer, which is a nice detail. over all its an interesting "what if"

[@scottmanley]

The NASA logo is different, so we can’t imagine Apollo 10 is the same

[@bobsaggat]

Scot hasn't posted a ksp video in2 months

[@scottmanley]

There's KSP in this video.

[@ryanspence5831]

@@scottmanley Not to downplay the effort in building and launching your soviet lunar mission, but using KSP as a demonstration doesn't really make it a "ksp video". Although, I don't see that as a problem.

[@Videoman2000]

Can you make a follow up since season has now aired ?

[@jimjensen230]

Started watching it. Only half joking here, do Astronauts still get 'Vettes? Always seemed like a pretty good perk.

[@DmitryKiktenko]

Scott, why didn't you told us you'll appear is s2e9? :)))

[@Veptis]

Do you think Von Braun is comperable to Koroliov in terms of leadership and guidance? For example the Apollo program was headed by mostly Germans in all the different NASA centers, after most of them left in 75 following projects in US space were delayed and more expensive than planned.

[@migkillerphantom]

So what you're saying is nothing gets done unless you put nazis in charge?

[@Tchoky]

Hey Scott, as a huge fan of yours and your work: I am visiting LA in the next two weeks, can you recommend a good bar where i might have a chance to buy you a beer? Love your work!

[@scottmanley]

I live in San Francisco which is 500 miles north of LA

[@andrewreynolds9371]

Wait, I always heard that the service module engine on Apollo burned H2/O2. Or is my memory starting to go?

[@scottmanley]

Only 2nd and 3rd stages of SaturnV used that, later stages were hypergolic.

[@andrewreynolds9371]

@@scottmanley so I guess ano domini is catching up to me after all. Oh well....

[@HiyoruMikiyazoya]

Jerrie Cobb's middle name is Menor, for anyone wondering if the M stood for Molly. Was kinda annoying to find.

[@ELMS]

Thank you Scott. You have saved me a lot of time. 🤣

[@Romir0s]

I waited for this video =) I knew that someone is gonna show all the ties to IRL events and history. Thank you. Also, now I have a crippling depression over the fact, that we (USSR/Russia) didn't make it to the Moon and, most probably, never will.

[@wojciechbogdan3361]

Why von Braun runs Flight Operations in this timeline? It makes as much sense as Chris Kraft designing Saturn V in his place.

[@scottmanley]

Because it made for a dramatic story.

[@basedgodstrugglin]

I’ve noticed a large majority of the people who view your channel and make comments use periods at the end of their comment. With the other videos I look at people end their comments like this

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

Huuuh never noticed that....

[@CommandLineVulpine]

I'd like to see this, already so many streaming services I"m on though, can't get yet another. Hopefully it'll come to DVD or something.

[@deereboy8400]

A video about the ammonia burning xlr99 rocket motor of the x15 would be interesting...not much info about it on youtube.

[@Strelnikov403]

Korolev was 100% assassinated by the KGB. He had spent the better part of the preceding decade at odds with the military, who wanted Soviet space efforts devoted to military projects, and saw the moonshot as a waste of time and money. Glushko had a lot of pull with the military leadership - Korolev didn't. Glushko was notoriously a yes-man who did whatever the Politburo demanded - Korolev wasn't. Getting Korolev out of the way let the USSR focus its' main efforts on military payloads, and killed their moon project in the process.

[@alflud]

You need to crank up those audio levels Scott.

[@dosmastrify]

Yeah we can always turn it down, but if its too quiet we just screwed

[@parkershaw8529]

I completely respect the conservative approach taken by Apollo program, that is exactly why nobody died in space.

[@bigginsd1]

Apollo 8 was probably the riskiest of the missions. I believe part of what prompted them to take the risk of flying people to the moon with Apollo 8 as the first manned Saturn V launch was aerial surveillance photos of the N1 on the launch pad before one of it’s failed unmanned test launches. They got more risk averse with later missions, with Apollo 10 being a dress rehearsal instead of a landing. There would be something inherently creepy about a crashed lander on the moon with two men dying up there. It would make you think about it every time you looked at the moon, that you’re looking at the corpses of two men. It is illogical because the men who died in Apollo 1 or Soyuz 1 are no less horrific, but I guess humans feel some solace in being able to recover the bodies and lay them to rest.

[@parkershaw8529]

@@bigginsd1 I agree. Those Apollo astraunts are HEROS, I think we don't truly appreciate the risk they took for the glory of the nation.