How Russia Lost the Moon

Sputnik’s launch 50 years ago marks a watershed event in human innovation. The Soviets anticipated success; for them, Sputnik was another marker in their continuous progression past Western technology. However, a little more than a decade later, the Americans became the first to reach the moon. Soviet efforts in the space race, argues Khrushchev, ultimately failed because of jealousy within the ranks of its top engineers. Soviet leaders refused to associate the accomplishment with any individual, thereby declining the Nobel Prize. Still, the team members whose collaborative effort produced Sputnik bickered constantly afterward over recognition. For the Soviet Union, collective opportunities for major innovation surpassed those available from individual efforts. Technology has become a complex endeavor, invariably requiring teamwork. In today’s context of wide international media exposure, the ability of any group – whether controlled by the state or not – to balance such collective effort with the propensity to recognize individual achievement becomes increasingly difficult. – YaleGlobal