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SpaceX Starship is closer to the (failed) N1 Soviet Rocket which should have been the Saturn V competitor.

The N1, with its 30 NK-15 engine would have made it more powerful than the Saturn V and its 5 F-1 engine, but less powerful than SpaceX "Super Heavy" with its 33 Raptor engines.

Another similarity is that the NK-15 engine and the Raptor are both staged combustion engines, while the F-1 uses the simpler open cycle design. The F-1 is also much more powerful than both the Raptor and NK-15, that's why the Saturn V has only 5 of them.

The similarities end there, fortunately.



The difference is, we have better QC procedures and modern flight control electronics.




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