Mission 11: Victory or Death. The Hermeneutics of the U.S. Triumph and the Soviet Failure in the 20th Century Lunar Race
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This article examines the 20th-century Space Race as a complex ontological and hermeneutic event in which technological programs, state strategies, and human destinies are integrated into a unified field of meaningful correlation. By analyzing the “Apollo” program and “Soyuz-11,” the author proposes to read them not merely as elements of political and technological history, but as manifestations of different modes of alignment between action and reality. As a methodological foundation, the concepts of “ontological optics” and “hermeneutics of resonance” are introduced, according to which historical reality is not given outside interpretation but is constituted through it. Interpretation is thus understood not as an external commentary on events, but as an internal operation of the historical fabric itself. Special attention is given to the number 11 as a structural marker of transition and limit-attunement, manifested in the configuration of space missions. Against this background, the Space Race is interpreted as a tension between two modes of action: a harmonized entry into the order of reality and an attempt to externally overcome its limits. The Lunar mission is revealed as a field in which technical action becomes a carrier of ontological distinction, and the history of space exploration appears as a process in which meaning is not imposed. Author portal: https://sites.google.com/view/yermakov-orcid
Author: Yermakov, Oleg V.
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160830871
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