alt Hacker NewsWe realized we needed a delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons before Russia was able to build an ICBM.
Space? That was excellent marketing.
We realized we needed a delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons before Russia was able to build an ICBM.
Space? That was excellent marketing.
That was a factor in the initial stages of the space race. But military and civilian launch technologies diverged once things really got going. The military switched to solid rocket launchers to improve safety and reliability but those couldn't be used as the core of human rated rockets.