A) there were too many enginesB) they were packed too close togetherC) individually they had terrible quality control and nonexistent testing
Nothing was ground tested. Even the tanks were shipped in parts, welded on site and used. They didn't had a dynamic test stand, the NK-15 used munition acceptance testing (I think it was 3/8 rather than 2/6). And it didn't had economic nor performance reserved. They originally pretended to do with a 80 tonne to LEO rocket, and then they had to increase it to 95. Which was still insufficient.In my mind, the N-1 was an example of how not to manage a project from a system engineering POV. They started with the rocket, rather than the payload. They didn't had the minimum budget nor schedule reserves. They didn't had any small demonstrator project. They did away with the ground validation and testing, both for the design and for each flight vehicle. Mishin went with the most complex system possible.And they were used to that because Koroloev had been a genius and had had some luck. He died mid project and their lucky streak run out.That's as short as I can state it.
Projects always seem to be more successful with a "hands on" Chief Designer. I am having a hard time thinking of a large, successful project without a name attached to it.John
The excellent BBC mini-series "Space Race" is currently on NetFlix. It is one of the best dramatizations I have seen of what was going on in the US and Russian space programs at the time. I think it is 4 episodes. The lack of funding in the Russian program is covered as well as the personality conflicts.
Had Korolev not died the Soviets probably would been the second to land on the moon.The N1 almost worked on flight four though a test stand probably would have exposed that failure mode.
Quote from: John-H on 10/21/2016 01:15 amProjects always seem to be more successful with a "hands on" Chief Designer. I am having a hard time thinking of a large, successful project without a name attached to it.JohnSpace shuttle. George Mueller's name is attached to it, but he wasn't a hands on chief designer. Hard to credit any single person
Quote from: John-H on 10/21/2016 01:15 amProjects always seem to be more successful with a "hands on" Chief Designer. I am having a hard time thinking of a large, successful project without a name attached to it.JohnQuite the opposite. Name the projects with them
That Glushko had been personally responsible for Korolev being sent to the Gulag could not have put either of them in a mood to cooperate.
Also R-9A, RT-1, RT-2, RT-15, RT-15M, RT-25 - All military missiles designed by Korolev, all pretty much failures. The Strategic Rocket Force high command was so angry at Korolev's poor performance on these projects that in 1964 they asked that he be sacked as Chief Designer of OKB-1. This might have happened had Khrushchev not been overthrown in October 1964. As it was, the unmanned lunar and planetary program was taken away from him in May 1965 due to a long series of dismal failures.The whole popular picture of Korolev as an engineering and management genius just doesn't stand up anymore. His biggest failing was taking on too many projects for his limited staff to handle, and then resisting all attempts to switch them to other organizations. The worst example is the L-1 Zond manned lunar-loop mission. This project was switched to Chelomei's OKB-52 by Khrushchev, but then Korolev lobbied Brezhnev to get it back. Even Korolev's own staff thought this program was silly. The only reason for it was empire-building.As an engineer, Korolev's big weakness was his opposition to complete ground testing. After Georgi Babakin took over the unmanned program, he found that none of OKB-1's Venus, Mars, or Moon probes had been tested in a vacuum chamber or a centrifuge. These facilities were reserved for the manned missions. When Babakin built a centrifuge and tested some of Korolev's Venus entry probes, they all collapsed well below the specified g levels. The N-1 and Soyuz-1 disasters were only the last of a long series of failures due to this "shoot and hope" philosophy.
Quote from: ThereIWas3 on 10/22/2016 01:57 pmThat Glushko had been personally responsible for Korolev being sent to the Gulag could not have put either of them in a mood to cooperate.Actually, it no more than myth. Glushko is not guilty of S.P.Korolev's arrest. At least because Glushko himself was arrested three months earlier.The reason of disagreements Korolev and Glushko was another.
I'll just note AFAIK this is the only large rocket that has planned to be steered with differential throttling, not any kind of gimbaling, or object being moved into the engine thrust.