Faltering decisions

摘要

At the beginning of the 1980s I was privileged to begin a decade-long association with Soviet military, industrial and space-related organisations and to participate in discussions which gave me a unique opportunity to debate the origins of the Soviet space programme and share thoughts with key players in that effort. Bear with me while I place this in context as it needs explanation. Officially, I was in Russia to help define the challenges faced by INMARSAT - formed in 1979 as a maritime parallel to INTELSAT - regarding its participation in satellite launches; unofficially, I set about researching the origin of the Soviet Moon decision through the contacts I was able to make. The two founding signatories of INMARSAT were the UK and the USSR which, at the time, were the world's largest maritime countries. The organisation was founded to enhance safety at sea and to seek seamless communication for sailors.