483 | John Strausbaugh: The Wrong Stuff - How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned

The Realignment

Technology, News Commentary, National Security, Marshall Kosloff, International Relations, News, Public Policy, Economics, Politics, Saager Enjeti, U.s. Politics, Policy

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

John Strausbaugh, author of The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Union Crashed and Burned, joins The Realignment. Marshall and John discuss the rise and fall of the USSR's space program, why the U.S. had the "Right Stuff" while the Soviet's had the "Wrong Stuff" needed for long-term success, how NASA lost its way after the Apollo Moon landings, and the implications for the second space race between the U.S., China, and the private companies like SpaceX caught in the middle.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Marshall here, welcome back to the realignment.
0:02.8	Hey everyone, welcome to the show.
0:09.4	We've got a great interview with the author John Strasspau today
0:12.1	to discuss his new book The
0:13.9	Wrong Stuff, how the Soviet space program crashed and burned. The title The
0:18.7	Wrong Stuff is obviously in reference to the classic by Tom Wolf, the book The Right stuff, which is all about what
0:25.5	needed to go right in the early American space program that Lange led America to victory or the
0:31.5	Soviet Union. The wrong stuff at conference is all about everything that goes wrong
0:35.0	even when you have an early lead like the Soviets did
0:38.0	with their launch of Sputnik and of course the first man in space
0:42.0	and other attendant early 60s victories.
0:46.0	This book is particularly timely now because not only are we in the middle of what many describe
0:50.6	as a second Cold War with the Chinese, but we are also in the middle of a second space race.
0:55.2	Not only do have the Russian programs and the Chinese programs and of course the American
0:58.8	governmental programs, but you also have other competitors that mix into those three like SpaceX and other private companies.
1:07.1	All this is going to come together in the second space-facing ways that are going to be similar
1:10.8	to the first one, but obviously very very different so considering what makes a
1:14.1	successful praise program is a great use of one's time. Hope you all enjoy this
1:18.9	conversation and a huge thank you to the foundation for American Innovation is for the work of this podcast.
1:28.8	John Strasspah, welcome to the realignment.
1:32.1	Thanks a bunch, Marshall.
1:33.3	Glad to be here.
	...

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