Zvezda: The Soviet's Incredible Plan for a Moonbase

[@megaprojects9649]

Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to keeps.com/MEGAPROJECTS to get a special offer.

[@lawrenceallen8096]

Had the largest and malevolent 20th-century colonialist slave state, i.e. the Soviet Union, been better at extracting value from its colonies, they might have been able to achieve some of this. But alas, communism sucks and pathetic communist satellites produced few golden eggs. So while they were able to plunder enough from its colonialist efforts during the 20th century to achieve some firsts in space, it wasn't enough to sustain such a gargantuan effort as moon bases... not to mention the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[@dudepool7530]

"I'm aware of the irony!" I dunno if you truly are. I think it adds to it that I have a full head of hair, and shave like, 1/3 of it off for my mohawk. This is like trying to sell ice to an inuit, who is trying to get rid of ice.

[@ricardobimblesticks1489]

The good news is Finasteride and Minoxidil, according to keeps website is extremely unlikely to be the cause of the sexual dysfunction users have reported. Sad droopy bald men are not scientists so what do they know.

[@Trainskitsetc]

"Licensed medical provider" My doctor doesn't use such language

[@guyman1570]

Your sponsor is a fraud unfortunately

[@Fireheart318]

If anyone’s wondering where the thumbnail image came from, it’s a screenshot from the Moon in Destiny/Destiny 2. Always cool to see one of your favorite games pop up in a place you don’t expect! The actual structure pictured is a railgun that sends material from the surface of the moon into orbit or back to earth without using rocket fuel, or at least very little of it, depending on the payload and destination.

[@_sneakycat_]

Right as I saw the thumbnail I was like wait a second that’s from destiny

[@Vi_Renders]

AHHHHH I fuckin knew it, I loved the designs of the structures on the Moon in D1:)

[@ArkaSaurusRex218]

Ah, right, that's part of the Jade Rabbit corporation colony, I believe it's found in the Archer's Line location.

[@alyssakitten6006]

A fellow D2 player!

[@dorsk84]

I knew it looked familiar.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

You can easily see how Red Dwarf got inspiration for its space vehicles like Starbug from the Soviets. They have that fascinating improvised appearance to them, like Soviet helicopters too.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:00 - Chapter 1 - The soviet moonshot 3:40 - Mid roll ads 5:05 - Chapter 2 - Room to grow 7:00 - Chapter 3 - Getting around in style 10:50 - Chapter 4 - Slow but steady

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

He should be doing this himself

[@CyberTheElder]

Yo, that thumbnail is Destiny concept art of the archers line base… which I think is a Chinese facility in that games universe.

[@Just_Q]

I knew it. Avid destiny player.

[@stonedronin9555]

Fuggin knew it lol

[@Atosark]

It says "First Light" or something like that in chinese :-)

[@okman9684]

Man I really want space race back

[@КГБКолДжорджКостанца]

As a Russian, yes I agree, I think it's better than trying to compete with the use of nukes....just space

[@HoundMonkey]

Born too late to explore the earth, born too early to explore the stars.

[@AlreadyTakenTag]

Competitions like the space race did provide enough motivation to members of humanity to advance science at rates rarely seen in human history. There really should be competitions like the space race between nations but the goal shouldn't be to elevate a certain nation above another one with aims to cause harm to the nation in question (an example of bad competition between nations is an arms race)

[@SnkobArts]

​@@HoundMonkey not deep sea Earth, that remains largely unexplored

[@andoletube]

@@КГБКолДжорджКостанца Would be nice if Russia would actually take care of its population for a while though. Russia spends money on everything but the welfare of its people.

[@namelesscare7982]

Always been excited to see videos related to the Cold War-era space competition between two superpowers. Both countries had put a massive effort to do the unthinkable while racing to reach beyond the planet and trying to take a step toward the moon.

[@pappy451]

and the really sad part is that with the technology and resources we have on this planet if we had all worked together there would already be a base on the moon if not on other planets as well . probably even deep space travel . but . . . humans .

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

The 1969-1970 TV series UFO features a Sovatek Corporation (a play on "Soviet" and "tech") moonbase similar to Zvezda and equipped with enormous truck-like rovers.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

And today we have ROSATOM from Russia (with love) and well ATOM. The largest nuclear engineering company around.

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

Way to know that.

[@damiengalanaud3817]

Hello Simon. Could you do a mega project on Our Lady of Peace/Notre Dame de la Paix, the world largest church, built in the 80s in Ivory Coast ? Just went there, it is both stunningly beautiful and an incredible piece of engineering, clearly worth a mega project video.

[@marccaillotdechadbannes6249]

Definitely a race that will benefit from more than two runners. This one will be MUCH more interesting!

[@drewstanford8701]

Simon your ads and the way you transition to them on every channel is the best I’ve ever seen on KZbin!

[@jimathy1988]

I'm a simple man... I see a new megaprojects upload with "Soviet" in the title, I watch it.

[@Supadubya]

It's really too bad one of these bases was never built. They ABSOLUTELY would have overshadowed Apollo (barring extreme US efforts to propagandize it didn't matter), and perhaps might have even averted the collapse of the USSR by restoring Soviet pride and unity. As America's floundering, having forgotten any noble ideals it ever claimed to stand for in the Cold War (though the history of CIA Coups and such in the Third World suggests these were never much more than words), and being driven only by greed since losing its rival demonstrates- America is at its best when it has to compete. Like the show For All Mankind postulates, the USA would have arrived for its noblest ideals more ardently (for instance, actually passing the Equal Rights Amendment in that timeline, firmly rejecting sexism...) if this had occurred. And, as history has shown in places like Ukraine, post-Soviet Russia is infinitely worse and more ruthless than the USSR was even on at its worst moments. The preservation of the USSR would have been a natural good for humanity- providing a check on unjustifiable US aggression in places like Iraq in 2003, a stabilizing influence on countries like North Korea (which only fell apart and went nuts AFTER the fall of the USSR), and relief for nations serving under the boot of US Imperialism- whether Cuba (where the economic blockade continues to this day) or Burkina Faso (where a military leader apparently interested in actually investing in the ordinary people of his country ousted a corrupt US-backed dictator who himself had taken power in a Coup despite claiming to be a legitimate "President", and is now facing threats of invasion from US puppets in ECOWAS...)

[@martinstallard2742]

1:00 the Soviet moonshot 5:02 room to grow 6:55 getting around in style 10:45 slow but steady

[@favesongslist]

Wow that was a very fast 15 minutes. I would have been happy to watch a lot longer, any chance for a part2?

[@onrok]

Seeing the moon railgun from Destiny (a videogame) in the thumbnail is priceless! I love it! I can listen to a great script while playing on the same scenario as the thumbnail! ^^ Thanks for your content factboy! Always entertaining!

[@herbertkeithmiller]

0:39 while the Soviet Union did secretly cancel It's plans to land humans on the moon denying it's very existence, the rest of the Soviet space program was NOT cancelled. They built several space stations (some were secretly military outposts while claiming not to be) And they also built the totally not a copy even though it is, Soviet space shuttle.

[@PlatyShroom]

Lol I can see the Luna base concept art from Destiny 1 being used 😌

[@CONSOLETRUTH2]

No irony with the sponsor Simon, I mean look at that beauty of a beard u got going!!!

[@Zeppathy]

Simon has a Keeps sub. He just uses it on his chin.

[@goldspartan6594]

Hey guys, the thumbnail is a Destiny concept art for the First Light Moon base from the golden age. Also, it’s a Chinese base. No hate, just a poke. Great vid and you guys and make great vids!

[@dinsdalemontypiranha4349]

Thanks Simon. Your videos about plans to colonize the moon are some of my favorites! This is because I am a big fan of the works of Robert A Heinlein.

[@sekaramochi]

The Soviet moon base, now those were the days I remember like it was yesterday... Dreaming... The 1960s space race, American Vs Russia But tin tin got there first, so the Soviets covered it up and built a base to cover up the first and the Americans just said they saw giant babies on the side of the creator 😯

[@SpikeRazzor]

Shameless Destiny thumbnail, I love it 😂.

[@chrislong3938]

Man! All those Soviet graphics sure fire the imagination!!! I hope somebody does something like that before I check out!!!

[@mbr5742]

China might. By mid century they will be the only high tech civilisation left

[@mospeada1152]

This was a good presentation, in that a lot has not been publicly expressed concerning the Russian Moon landings.

[@nojo1238]

You guys should do the sea dragon

[@RS-ls7mm]

A moon colony sounds cool. But then you learn about the fact that moon dust will destroy any equipment pretty quickly. (along with a host of other problems).

[@callumchater9750]

Ah true yeah u know what, we won't bother then.

[@randompheidoleminor3011]

The new Artemis-era suits actually have nanotubes woven into them, that when powered generate an electric field that actively repels the dust away in the moon's low-G environment to solve this issue.

[@u1zha]

@@randompheidoleminor3011 Ok sounds nice, but that's not been tested with real moon dust. It won't work miracles, I would bet a crate of beers on that

[@RS-ls7mm]

@@randompheidoleminor3011 Interesting, but I read conflicting articles on its expected effectiveness. Doesn't seem to affect the larger particles. Charging your suit could also have consequences for any electronics they touch.

[@CheesyMez]

if it was that big a problem, nasa wouldn't bother.

[@Iamthestig42069]

Putting a train on the moon sounds like something an 8 year old would draw. Wild it was a serious thing a government came up with

[@wackywankavator]

Just put up one automated rover that can build moon bricks. We can launch and land. Let's see if we can build one brick from the regolith. That would be the next step.

[@Zeppathy]

One 3d printer on treads would at least get you a foundation for a base built without a single human on site.

[@F_L_U_X]

I'd spend most of my time in that Lunar Telescope at 6:19 Mainly just trying to figure out what each piece did because I don't speak Russian, but after that IT'S ON.

[@robsquared2]

This makes me want to watch Apollo 18 again.

[@kimchi2780]

Russia is great at coming up with insane ideas but not too good at implementing basic ones.

[@thekidwhodraws]

You need a team with a few engineers trying to get weird with it, not a team made up exclusively of them

[@grahamstevenson1740]

It's the vodka at work.

[@weldonwin]

You question Infallible Beloved Leader Putin? GO TO SPACE GULAG!!!

[@jackcat3745]

U r a great fool, Russians invented helicopter, spaceship, satellite, spacestation, proposed element table, discovered Antarctica.

[@jackcat3745]

The Chinese invest nothing at all, the Chinese did not invented paper, people in Egypt invent paper. The Chinese did invented the compass, the needle of the ancient Chinese compass, shina, was as big as a spoon.

[@andrewreynolds9371]

Fun fact: the Soyuz capsule currently flying is based on the capsule the USSR developed to fly people to and from the Moon. Kind of makes you wonder why someone hasn't thought about turning Soyuz back into a lunar exploration vehicle.

[@vergil-__]

I would really not like to go to the moon in the very VERY little in a soyuz. The dragon capsule sounds better

[@LoftBits]

...or rather the other way round: Soyuz 7KL1 was a shaved down version of 'standard' ones used for LEO/Salyut, so it could reach the moon.

[@henrya3530]

There have been many proposals for a moonbase over the years but there remain two apparently mundane problems that I have yet to see practical solutions for which will prevent long term occupation of such habitats. The first is how to deal with lunar dust which is highly abrasive. The second is how to prevent microbial growth within a habitat. It is most likely that any moonbase of the future would function autonomously and only be visited intermittently when human intervention is unavoidable to achieve mission goals rather than being permanently occupied.

[@SeanNyte]

I'm sad that I just noticed that this video was uploaded.... Time to catch up and see what I learn from this video.... There's always something to learn....

[@mikelanglow-bi2sv]

Excellent- once again.

[@micjoseph6250]

Ya im sure. Are they in the studio next to the US moon mission?

[@wiley5oh51]

Hey Simon, could you do a video on the Atlas V?? Or the Delta II

[@draconightwalker4964]

Love the sarcasm on the sponsor spot

[@Henchman_Holding_Wrench]

I wonder where'd we be by now if that era of space exploration were a joint effort instead. The fact that the ISS is still up gives me some hope for the near future. I don't know what's gonna happen if we don't have a neutral moon base by 2031 when the ISS is scheduled to deorbit.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

WTF use would a bloody MOONBASE be ? And please don't say say so we can 'mine' for some idiot exotic material that's of no ruddy use to mankind !

[@mbr5742]

By 2031 the west will no longer be able to even think about a moon base. If we ever get one it will be Chinese

[@grahamstevenson1740]

@@mbr5742 A moon base has no practical purpose. Why would anyone need one ? It's just an expensive white elephant.

[@mbr5742]

@@grahamstevenson1740 And that is one of the reasons the west will not survive the next 50 years as a technological civilisation. Wellcome to Woki World, the new 16th century adventure park. I am happy to have left that hellhole in making behind

[@trevortaylor5501]

Angara heavy makes it all possible since it's already in production.

[@CPX723]

For All Mankind is a great show. Alternative history where soviets won the race for the moon. Pretty cool. Too much personal drama for my taste, but the sci-fi aspects are fun.

[@lewiswestfall2687]

thanks Simon

[@millar876]

Nice to see some Bungie concept art for their game “Destiny”s moon location “Archers Line” in the thumbnail

[@PhillMcraken]

Ayo is that the K1 facility on the moon, heard that place is haunted

[@MethosReborn5930]

lol great video - and I feel your pain, my hair was gone by 19-20.. bald every since )

[@juangil384]

Great sponsor 😂😂. Great content too

[@rudyrudelaemmerhirt]

Can we go back to competing this way instead of wars?

[@AuroraRaiju]

Imagine if Russia had decided to put more energy into colonizing the moon instead of already occupied territory 😓

[@Deeegeeee]

The problem is that if Nato expands any further eastwards, you can be sure they will be threatening Russia in a decades' time.

[@robertbarncord6341]

Judging from how badly that's going for them in the easy to access already occupied territory, I'm guessing colonizing the moon might be beyond the Russians no matter how much energy they put into it lol.

[@biosecurePM]

But there are no bioweapon labs on the Moon, whereas they are (or thankfully.. were) in Ukraine

[@reggiep75]

The US coup of Ukraine in 2014 caused all of that to happen. Russia stepped in to defend innocent people who were getting shelled in the Donbass.

[@MrTexasDan]

@@reggiep75 You mean the US coup of 2014 where the Orcs stole Crimea from Ukraine. That coup?

[@j.j.neufeld3514]

Bravo!

[@КГБКолДжорджКостанца]

Man I miss our old space program and country

[@Theshropshireratter]

Hey Simon love your content long time viewer just wanted ask what happened to several warographics vidios on ukraine

[@dragneal]

Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Soviet spaceship N1

[@eddypan8]

The closest they're getting now are their tank crews.

[@NicholasNerios]

Bits of knowledge. 😊

[@loopymind]

As with most Russian plans, they are great on paper

[@rRekko]

At least they have plans they're working on like the Chinese. Meanwhile in the west people are too divided by first world made up imaginary problems to focus on actually advancing mankind. I really wish for another space race so we can focus on tech advancement rather than identity politics and talking about victimhood and competing in the oppression olympics.

[@clarenceorozco5300]

But ain't work jack#### on practice

[@manicmechanic448]

It could be done, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[@tylerj.6973]

This thumbnail face crop always looks like handsome Squidward

[@Caleb1874ya]

I just can’t wait to open up my Moon-Bar PINK FLOYDS…

[@Demonic_Tang]

Ayeeee destiny concept art as a thumbnail

[@rickschwartz2447]

my dad was bald and worked for wildroot creamoil in the 50'S -60'S

[@Evolution_Kills]

Restart the space race? I mean, does getting launched into orbit when your T-72's ammo cooks off count?

[@Andy-te1mw]

For all mankind is amazing. Megaprojects, amazing as well!

[@danko6582]

How did they plan to deal with the dust?

[@davidhollenshead4892]

The N1 rocket failed due to pressures from Soviet Leasers, as it should have been tested one stage at a time. The engines from it were sound and were later successfully used to launch satellites. So given the resources, the N1 could have been reliable... The two problems that haven't been solved yet are life support, turning CO2 back into O2, and Inadequate Radiation Shielding. The latter was the main reason for ending the Apollo program early and the Soviets also knew this... My best guess is that about a foot of water would be needed to shield humans & diatoms living in this water could produce an adequate but heavy life support system... However, how does one get a space agency to trust a living life support system???

[@Cheeky-fingers]

The N1 final failure is rumoured to be the world's largest no nuclear explosion. The N1 would have worked but after Karelokov's death they lacked the expertise to iron out its problems.

[@mirage809]

These Zvezda and LEK concepts are incredible looking. I doubt that it was possible with 60s/70s tech, but the ambition of the idea is praiseworthy. I highly doubt that new concept is ever getting of the ground, at least Russia's part won't. With Kazakhstan slowly repossessing parts of Baikonur and all that.

[@codypk5111]

These plans were made with the intention of throwing massive amounts of government money at making the technology they require exist within the next 20-30 years; not with what was already available off the shelf

[@jaymudd2817]

Didn't know Baikonur was being repossessed.

[@mirage809]

@@jaymudd2817 As I understand it Russia has some debts to Kazakhstan. And Russia is unable to pay those debts. (Probably in part because of the Ukraine conflict draining resources and westers sanctions.) So Kazakhstan has been taking parts of the cosmodrome instead.

[@Vaeldarg]

@@mirage809 China is also facing environmental, economic, and demographic collapse. Regardless of what their propagandists put out, they're not getting any moon base built this decade or even maybe next.

[@victorzvyagintsev1325]

Russia has built Vostochny Cosmodrome that can replace Baikonur if needed(though ISS will be doomed if this happens). To understand what will happen to Baikonur in Kazakh hands, you just need to look up the fate of Buran prototypes.

[@fedoramaster6035]

People always say the space race was a waste of money, but think about the technologies that would have been funded decades earlier had the soviets funded the space race.

[@chrisallton4409]

More successful than space x starship.

[@alternativefacts9600]

Probably have more important things to worry about 😮

[@Clannluan]

This video mentions the Russians putting robotic landers on the Moon. I'm 48 yrs old... and this is the first time I have heard of the Russians landing on the Moon in any form! Cool.

[@betaorionis2164]

The Russians crash landed a spacecraft on the Moon (Luna 2) as early as 1959 and managed a soft landing in 1966 (Luna 9). Both were, obviously, uncrewed missions,

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

What marketing genius basically hired a bald guy to advertise a hair regrowth product? That surely was a career defining moment for that person, one way or the other! :⁠-⁠D

[@GoDodgers1]

Only the rich will go to the moon and Mars, the rest of us will just bite the cost of an amusement park.

[@scottbaase4042]

Imagine if we spent just 1 percent of America's defence budget on space exploration, we could actually reach for the stars instead of making lip service.

[@JohnWilliamNowak]

In 2022, the NASA budget was $24 billion against a defense budget of $800 billion, about three percent.

[@BoraHorzaGobuchul]

The plan was so incredible that anything about soviet/Russian moon is incredible even today. Including the periodic statements with the ever-changing future date of the moon station deployment. I remember it being deployed in 2016, then 202x something, several times, always ahead, just like communism

[@madphilip12]

Some pacing please Simon

[@richardsbrandon5027]

hahahahaha, gotta love your comment about the irony.

[@NickJaime]

I don't like when they say Soviet they only mean Russians which is dishonesty. Since Ukraine plus the Warsaw Pact were a big part of the brain trust the Soviets used. Now only seeing what Russia can do just shows it wasn't because of Russia that The USSR thrived. It was on the people they used that Moscow was able to be what it was.

[@theformertexan1642]

During the timeframe involved in this video, it was in fact, the Soviet Union. I know it's all broken up now, with Russia actively trying to reunify aggressively, but that's not how it was at that time. Also, I'm not arguing that the best parts of the Soviet Union are no longer part of said union! But this plan was created under the ospices of the Soviet era.

[@sterlingbruce4586]

BABE. WAKE UP. NEW MEGAPROJECTS

[@VenomStryker]

Being bald works for some people. Simon is one of them.

[@stevoplex]

Wow! The Ultimate Gulag! 😏

[@natelarson5296]

Another space race would be too tier

[@dougaldouglas8842]

We are in it, of sorts. Who is going to land on the moon, this time round, first, SpaceX? China? India?

[@SNEZNA9]

It wasn’t a Saturn V, it’s Saturn 5, V is a number

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

More Cold War mega projects!

[@jrk098]

I thought that thumbnail looked familiar lol. (Destiny)

[@fernandogarajalde4066]

Simon, has anyone calculated the total amount of money that the USSR wasted on failed military and space missions? I’d accept an estimate based on your channel’s research to date. Don’t lose any sleep over it.

[@tkskagen]

If you like "cheesy cult classic" movies, the NAZI's already have a Moon Base... "IRON SKY" is the title, I would HIGHLY recommend watching it!

[@alexandradevreux-swift1742]

Isn’t „Iron Sky“ a documentary?

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

Ohhhh thaat sounds great. What year was it made?

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

@@alexandradevreux-swift1742 there are 2 films named Iron Sky.

[@sergeygalayda2931]

For those who guessing why USSR abandoned Moon program. Soviet automatic Moon exploration devices revealed really sad fact there is no vodka on the Moon. 🤑🤑🤑🤑

[@rogerpenske2411]

I seriously doubt that a trip to Mars would be fruitful at all. There’s really no reason to go there other than to say we went because it’s there. Onto a new technology of propulsion besides reaction rocketry, all will produce is cost and some short term prestige.

[@keiming2277]

Give Soviet Union another ten years, they probably can build the dead star from star trek (The big bang theory lines)

[@Zeppathy]

And the toilets still wouldn't work. 😂

[@littlefishy6316]

Putin reads plan for moon base...... decides it's easier to send his army on holiday to Ukraine

[@golem_videomaking]

i will be just curious about who will be the first to bring there weapons, and who will be the first to use them 😂

[@urbanaddictet]

The only space race the ruzzians have on at the moment is when one theyre tanks blows up and the turret goes on a space mission lol

[@victorzvyagintsev1325]

How is it that Ukraine ran out of tanks? It had the most tanks in Europe(Russia not included)

[@Zeppathy]

A few of their tank commanders got their astronaut certification. 😂

[@timferguson1593]

It's kinds strange. These Soviet scientist all died under weird circumstance. They died after failures in the Soviet space program. No, it's not weird. That was The Soviet way!

[@almondgaming85]

Moons haunted IYKYK 😏

[@benstrbich8813]

Simon, I like your hair. Hahahahaha

[@valdemarsimonsen9612]

That wizard came from the moon

[@LuisVazquez-hx3bk]

I don't know how Russia will have time to think about space when they are busy making enemies with there neighbors.

[@jimtalbott9535]

Can we all imagine the horrible results if the Russia we all know and love from the Ukraine war we’re to try to establish a moon base? The corruption, the poor quality? Dang!

[@littlefishy6316]

Interesting

[@whiskeysierra972]

12:39 "LEK's lander would have been capable of going back and forth" - Based on the FACT that they couldn't get a single N-1 rocket to work properly I am going to press X to doubt that. They would have needed tugboats in space to get Zvezda to work properly. And that is the "Pravda".

[@victorzvyagintsev1325]

Zevs nuclear tug...many of Russian projects are simply modernised USSR concepts that are being brought back to life.

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

This was all a thought experiment & they knew it bro

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

Considering the current international relationships I wouldn't describe it as a 'space race' anymore ..., more 'space empire building'