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Comment by cpursley | Hacker News Reader

I get it, you dislike Russia - but they are objectively one of the most experienced and consistent contenders in the space race.

Around 1,800 space launches (including USSR) vs 1,500 USA. And they seem to be increasing the frequency of launches.

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Yes, they absolutely were, but their golden era is long past. The Soyuz is a workhouse but it's also basically a 1960s design, and Russia isn't even trying to build reusable rockets.

Angara, Amur, Soyuz-5, Soyuz-7 are all in the works.

Angara and Soyuz-5 are designed to be reusable to some extent.

> The Soyuz is a workhouse but it's also basically a 1960s design

If you want to say something is obsolete, you need to be more specific. I'm sure a lot of "1960s design[s]" are state of the art.

I don't dislike Russia. I dislike what the Russian government is doing to the world, and the peril that it creates for us all. I dislike the stubborn nationalistic gullibility among some Russians that is aiding this. And I dislike the cynical destruction of hope and opportunity for young Russians. They, and all of us, deserve better.

You basically proved my point: maybe you don't "dislike" them, but you are looking at their space program through an emotional lens of how you "feel" about them, not based on their actual technical merit.

It's an easy trap to fall into, but a dangerous one. We've also seen it manifested in the war prognosticating ("they're a bunch of drunks who will run out of missiles soon!"). Well, apparently there are some sober ones.

> It's an easy trap to fall into, but a dangerous one.

So is patronising people on the internet, it seems.

I'm going to leave it there.

In what way?

Just look at the negative tone towards all things Russia in their posts. This type of emotionally driven attitude clouds judgement.

And sure, there’s plenty to criticize about Russian politics but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a space contender.

Heck, replace Russia with India. India has a ton of basic problems but that is not stopping them from competing.

>"[Russia] are objectively one of the most experienced and consistent contenders in the space race."

I mean I'm not sure if this is true.

How not? Russia has been launching payloads even throughout the war (30 or so in 2023 - including unspecified military systems).

They until recently sold around 100 RD-180 rockets to the US - none of which experienced issues. Not to mention putting US astronauts into space.

Russia is one of the few nations that actually have the history, engineering talent, finances and the raw resources to compete.

It might be true but I doubt a sanctioned nation will be able to continue a largely unproductive enterprise at this scale. They have definitely been punching above their weight so far though, unfortunately it will probably fizzle out soon

Have you noticed who Russia shares it's borders with? Go read about which chips the devastatingly effective Lancet 3 drone contains (hint: made in 2022 & 2023).

Plus, it's been widely reported that Russian military industrial output is way up with factories working 3 shifts, etc. We are not talking about illiterate Afghanis.

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