"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message
...
However the Russians did have significantly more advanced
rocket engines. NASA have been using the designs to make
their rockets better.

Where do you get this?

Well one of the problems with the big engines NASA was using was getting the
fuel in fast enough.
They did this by fitting big pumps.
Apparently the Russians used a turbine powered by the rocket to achieve it,
something NASA said wasn't possible.
It saved weight and gave more thrust.
What the Russians couldn't do was make stuff well.

The Saturn was unusual, possibly unique, in that it was (apparently) the
only rocket that never failed.

It wasn't used much though, other rockets don't have a much worse failure
rate, not even the shuttle.
They cancelled the last few Apollo missions, partly to avoid an accident,
they knew they were pushing their luck.