alternatehistory.com

It wouldn't be too hard to have the Soviets first around the Moon early 1969.

Let's suppose the second Saturn V, April 4, 1968, blew up in flight. OTL the flight was a disaster, none of the three stages working too well (S-IC pogoed, S-II lost engines, S-IVB did not restarted).
George Low decision of sending Apollo 8 around the Moon without a LM would be even harder, if not impossible.
In fact Apollo 8 might be a hybrid of Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 - low Earth orbit with a Saturn V but without a LM.
First Apollo to orbit the Moon would be Apollo 10 in May 1969.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Iron Curtain, Zond 7 was to carry Leonov and Makarov around the Moon in March 1969.
http://www.friends-partners.org/mwade/craft/soyz7kl1.htm

I wonder if the Soviet first around the Moon could turn the tide of the Moon race...
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