Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 88 The Real Players of the Space Race (710)

Korolev, a core figure in Soviet space flight, is known as the father of Soviet space flight.

On the cover of Time magazine, Korolev has no face, not even a name, roughly similar to the black-faced man in Conan.

This is because the other party's identity is highly confidential. America only knows that such a person exists, but knows nothing about his real name and detailed background.

Korolev had only one code name in America: Chief Designer.

It was not until Korolev's death in 66 that the West gradually became aware of his contributions.

In a report by Time magazine, Lin Ran was compared with Korolev, and Lin Ran was considered the chief designer of NASA:

"The real players in the space race
In the fierce battlefield of the space race, NASA has always lacked a representative figure comparable to the Soviet Union's chief designer. We once had high hopes for the former NAZI rocket scientist von Bryan from Germany, but there is no doubt that he has disappointed us in the past five years.

He was unable to take on the responsibility of competing head-on with the Soviet Union, and NASA was always in a passive process of catching up, and could not even catch up.

Fortunately, the emergence of Randolph Lin gave NASA a figure who was comparable to the chief designer.

This master in the field of number theory achieved the landing of the Pioneer probe on the moon and took photos in just three months, proving that he is not only a master of number theory but also a top aerospace talent.

As the architects of NASA's daring leap: the Pioneer probe's daring hard landing on the moon. These two players in the space race, separated by the Iron Curtain, yet in their shared pursuit of the stars, they wrote the destiny of humanity. A silent duel echoed across the heavens.

Soviet Russia Mystery: Chief Designer
To the free world, he was a phantom—a nameless and faceless figure whose influence loomed with every Russian rocket that pierced the heavens.

America called him "the chief architect," the elusive central figure in the Soviet space program, his true identity locked behind the Kremlin's Iron Curtain. Under his covert direction, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in 1957, shocking the West. Furthermore, his genius launched Yuri Gagarin into space, making the young cosmonaut the first human to travel through the atmosphere.

Who was this mysterious master? The Pentagon anxiously searched for clues, piecing together rumors from defectors and moles. Some said he had been honed in the Gulag, ultimately forging his talents; others speculated he was a technocrat hand-picked by the Red Army. What was certain was that his achievements had propelled Soviet Russia to the pinnacle of space exploration, and his next plans intrigued and terrified the West. A manned moon landing? Or a satellite to peer into the stars? Behind the Iron Curtain, his plans remained unknown.

Randolph Lin: America's Top Talent
If the chief designer is Moscow's trump card, Lin Ran is Washington's secret weapon.

This sudden arrival of this mathematician at NASA triggered a wave of opposition in Washington, and a special hearing failed to keep him out of NASA.

We should be thankful that the White House trusted Randolph enough to not abandon his appointment because of opposition from Republicans. His colleagues at NASA described him as a tyrant who was known for his harsh words towards his colleagues, but no one denied that his mind was miraculous and could easily solve the most difficult problems.

After the Sputnik incident, Lin Ran was spotted by the White House and became a special assistant for space affairs. He quickly became the shadow director of NASA and was hailed as an indispensable person in NASA.

His masterpiece this time was the Pioneer 5 probe, which he led to the moon with almost perfect precision calculations.

As the probe rushed towards the lunar surface, its camera captured stunning images of the lunar sky, with the Earth clearly visible in the cold light. After being transmitted back to Earth, these shocking photos were a testimony to Lin Ran's talent and a victory for America's wisdom.

Pioneer 5's success was no fluke.

Previous attempts had either been lost in the void or derailed, but Randolph's meticulous thinking turned his dream into reality. The probe hurtled toward the moon, capturing images of the lunar sky. For America, the moon was no longer a distant phantom but a near-reaching frontier, its mysteries about to be revealed by NASA's chess masters.

The victory promised to turn the tide of the space race. The moon, once a mockery of the Soviet Union, now bore the stamp of America.

Although oceans and ideologies separate Randolph and the chief designer, they are bound together by their shared goal of conquering space, a battle of wits, with rockets as pawns and the solar system as the chessboard.

The world waits with bated breath.

This is not only a contest, but also a collision of two worlds.

The Chief Designer represents Soviet megastructures—the concentrated power that propels a collective journey toward the stars. Randolph embodies the American spirit: a genius single-handedly altering history. Their duel, silent and unobtrusive, leaves its mark in every launch.

As the 60s approached, the space race heated up. Would the chief designer strike back with an astronaut on the moon, solidifying the Red Menace's lead?

Will Lin Ran and NASA take the ultimate crown? The answer lies in the minds of these two players, brewing behind closed doors, and they will shine through in the flaming trail of their rockets.

They were the true pioneers in this magnificent saga, and we are merely witnesses, marveling at the space race."

While other newspapers focused on photos transmitted from space, Time magazine always found a different point to portray the people behind the events.

This is also the fundamental reason why it has been able to stand firm throughout history.

The special issue of Time magazine that put Lin Ran and Korolev together was very popular, with sales exceeding 30% over the usual level.

For the White House, it also swept away the shadow of the Bay of Pigs incident and finally won a victory.

No matter how much the Soviet Union and its allies' media promoted that America did not win, sending back photos was nothing, and the Soviet Union's Luna 2 could do it, but they chose not to bring a camera up in order to send back more important data.

But it didn't work.

Because the reality is that NASA brought back photos, while the Soviet Union brought back cold numbers.

At the publicity level, cold numbers pale in comparison to photos.

Kennedy personally presented the Distinguished Service Medal for Aeronautics and Astronautics to senior NASA officials at the White House, including Lin Ran.

After the award ceremony, Kennedy had lunch with Lin Ran at the White House. At the table, Kennedy said:

"Randolph, get ready. England is going to confer a title on you. You were supposed to go a long time ago, but we've been holding you back."

(End of this chapter)