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According to Boris Chertok's memoirs, Sergei Osipovich Okhapkin, a Deputy Chief Designer at OKB-1, said in November 1964 regarding Sergei Korolev's plans for a lunar mission:
"Do not underestimate Chelomei. He is of the same design school as Tupolev and Myasishchev. If we give him the will and the means, his products will equal those of the Americans. Now is the right moment to combine forces with Chelomei".
Would the Soviet manned lunar program have been more successful if Sergei Korolev had combined forces with Vladmir Chelomei of OKB-52?
The Soviet manned lunar program was charaterized by infighting in which it seemed that the Chief Designers were settling personal grudges and building empires. We also know that there was lifelong animosity between Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, head of OKB-456. The Soviet lunar spacecraft also suffered from poor quality control.
Could the Soviets have avoided the UR-700/LK-700 vs. N1/L3 battle for the manned lunar mission? Would an alliance between Korolev and Chelomei have also brought the support of Valentin Glushko? We know that there was lifelong hatred between Korolev and Glushko. Could Glushko have been persuaded to develop engines for cryogenic fuels earlier and Korolev would not have been forced to go to Kuznetzov? Could the Soviets have landed on the moon?