# It blows my mind that humankind went from Sputnik to Apollo 11 in 12 years **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937 "2014-11-30T05:04:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/21 "2014-11-30T21:39:24Z")
Hey,idiots, one of my friends knows the answer. Nobody knows couse you aren’t allowed to know but we all know something about that alien that hit in Roswell and Truman shook Stalin’s hand and then something was slipped into Uncle Joe’s tea and my friend told me it’s the alien lying in area 51 who told us all this but I dare not reveal the secr— ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/22 "2014-11-30T22:49:15Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > It’s astonishing to me to think there people who were children when the Wright Bros made their flight who lived to see the moon landing. > > It’s incredible all that happened in a human lifetime. I agree that’s amazing. Also, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, transportation was limited to the speed at which a horse could run (or the wind could blow). Machinery was also, for the most part, dependent on muscle power. That had not changed in thousands of years. At the end of the nineteenth century, railroads were crossing continents. Steamships were crossing oceans. Factories were producing goods in ways unheard of earlier. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/23 "2014-11-30T23:20:11Z")
That’s the funny part: at the turn of the 20th century, with explorers like Shackleton able to bring civilisation to Antarctica (the camp his team built still stands), it’s easy to see how Westerners could feel like their society had already reached a technological pinnacle. But there was still so much to come within a young person’s lifetime, as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/24 "2014-12-01T00:38:25Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > It’s astonishing to me to think there people who were children when the Wright Bros made their flight who lived to see the moon landing. > > It’s incredible all that happened in a human lifetime. My grandmother used to tell the story of the first time she saw an automobile. She also got to watch an automobile on the moon. She lived long enough to see the first space shuttle as well. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/25 "2014-12-01T01:21:53Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Hey,idiots, one of my friends knows the answer. Don’t insult other posters outside of the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/26 "2014-12-01T02:02:52Z")
OTOH, cold fusion is taking a little longer, as is also a vaccine or cure for AIDS. ETA: Make that _any kind of controlled_ fusion is taking a little longer. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/27 "2014-12-01T02:35:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > OTOH, cold fusion is taking a little longer, as is also a vaccine or cure for AIDS. > > ETA: Make that _any kind of controlled_ fusion is taking a little longer. I think that the difference is that most of what’s being discussed in this thread were engineering problems, whereas things like an aids vaccine or controlled fusion with a net energy gain require new science. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/28 "2014-12-01T03:08:15Z")
Those Roswell aliens gave our technology a tremendous boost. We went from vacuum tubes to integrated IC chips in 30 years. The Model T to a lunar rover in a generation. The telegraph to radio, then tv and now streaming video. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/29 "2014-12-01T08:44:06Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Really shows what people can accomplish when you give them a deadline. It’s more than just the deadline. It was the competition, and more so because we were behind. We didn’t want to go to bed each night by the light of a communist moon. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/30 "2014-12-01T13:36:21Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > It blows my mind that since December 1972, no man\* has travelled outsider Low Earth Orbit. > \*No women has ever left LEO anyway. All 24 were men. IMNSHO, it’s a national disgrace that we do not have a functioning base on the Moon today. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/31 "2014-12-01T13:42:30Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > IMNSHO, it’s a national disgrace that we do not have a functioning base on the Moon today. I blame the Russians. They cancelled their moon programme just as it might have bourne fruit. They could have done a lunar flyby even before Apollo 8. But, once the U.S. got going then just said, fuck it. Of course as it turned out, they did win the space race ultimately, so there is that.😛 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/32 "2014-12-01T14:18:45Z")
I’m guessing another factor was a less robust bureaucracy back in those days. Can you imagine how we’d have stalled if those in charge of the funding were pandering to a fundy constituency? Maybe I’m too cynical, but I feel like we’d be doing more in space in a different political atmosphere, and I don’t mean “beat the Commies to the moon.” ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/33 "2014-12-01T20:51:25Z")
Sorry, didn’t mean harm. I got a little too carried away. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/34 "2014-12-01T22:06:14Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’m guessing another factor was a less robust bureaucracy back in those days. Can you imagine how we’d have stalled if those in charge of the funding were pandering to a fundy constituency? > > Maybe I’m too cynical, but I feel like we’d be doing more in space in a different political atmosphere, and I don’t mean “beat the Commies to the moon.” There were plenty of fundies back then, but everything took a back seat to the cold war. For the most part, the fundies were happy to see us one-up the Soviet’s in any way possible. They certainly didn’t want a bunch of commie atheists on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/35 "2014-12-02T03:54:27Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Sorry, didn’t mean harm. I got a little too carried away. Not a problem - you were just in touch with your inner alien. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/36 "2014-12-02T03:55:45Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > There were plenty of fundies back then, but everything took a back seat to the cold war. For the most part, the fundies were happy to see us one-up the Soviet’s in any way possible. They certainly didn’t want a bunch of commie atheists on the Moon. So instead we got Buzz Aldrin breaking bread and drinking wine when he landed in the Sea of Tranquility. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/37 "2014-12-02T13:13:47Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > It blows my mind that since December 1972, no man\* has travelled outsider Low Earth Orbit. Obligatory (if slightly depressing) [XKCD reference.](http://xkcd.com/893/) Also, since the Concorde was brought up, here’s a [nice nostalgic piece](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9bVFkDhGPE) about the Concorde’s 27 years of service. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/38 "2014-12-02T14:27:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I blame the Russians. They cancelled their moon programme just as it might have bourne fruit. They could have done a lunar flyby even before Apollo 8. But, once the U.S. got going then just said, fuck it. Didn’t they have a very large booster explode on the pad a short while before the launch of Apollo 11? The Saturn V with the Apollo capsule and escape tower on it was longer than the Wright brother’s first flight. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/39 "2014-12-02T16:15:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Didn’t they have a very large booster explode on the pad a short while before the launch of Apollo 11? They had [a few in-flight blowups around that time,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-1_rocket#Launch_history) but the pre-launch disaster you’re probably thinking of is the [Nedelin Catastrophe,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe) which happened in 1960. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937/40 "2014-12-02T16:18:49Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I blame the Russians. They cancelled their moon programme just as it might have bourne fruit. They could have done a lunar flyby even before Apollo 8. But, once the U.S. got going then just said, fuck it. The Soviet manned lunar program sort of cancelled itself, what with all four N-1 boosters exploding during test flights (and some having barely left the launch pad). But going to the OT, I don’t think it’s fair to count just the years from Sputnik to Apollo 11. Von Braun started serious design on the A-4 (V-2) in 1938/9. And Goddard launched the first liquid fueled rocket in 1926. Just sayin’. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-blows-my-mind-that-humankind-went-from-sputnik-to-apollo-11-in-12-years/705937.md?page=3)