[Context_free]

From 1947 to 1957 US media was filled with the idea that all progress in the Soviet Union was from stealing US innovations. Particularly the 1949 A-bomb, but other things as well.

Then the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. Then they put a dog in space. Then they put a man in space. And the narrative changed.

[walrus01]

> Then the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. Then they put a dog in space.

Our german rocket scientists are better than your german rocket scientists! Operation paperclip, and all that.

[krasin]

One of the best books about soviet rocketry is "Rockets and People" ([1]). My blood boiled at how badly German engineers were treated on the Soviet side and how inefficient the use of their skills was. They literally landed Germans on an island and gave an important, but a standalone task (multi-channel telemetry). Over time, it became redundant and 7 years later all surviving german engineers were let to go home.

It's one sin to steal; it a bigger sin to not use what you have efficiently.

1. https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol1_deta...

[coliveira]

It's even more impressive that the USSR did all that without using German scientists.

[krasin]

To be more precise, without using German scientists to the full capacity.

This multi-channel telemetry was enabler; Soviets followed the same approach as SpaceX is doing: lot of launches, lots of explosions and learning something every time.

It was telemetry from the German team that allowed this approach to happen.

In a sense, printf-style debugging was used before it became prevalent in computers.