 Why does the fact that Finogenov had a wooden desk sent up to space a point of contention for Winship?
General Finogenov notified Major Winship that the underground blast was scheduled for the following morning. Major Winship attempted unsuccessfully to communicate with Base Gagarin. "Pinov's still there," Major Winship said. Air currents whisked it away and plastered it against a riveted seam of the dome. Major Winship said, "they should have made these things more flexible." "You did this deliberately," Major Winship said testily. The Soviet base was situated some ten miles toward sunset at the bottom of a natural fold in the surface. At that point, the best pathway angled left and made an S-shaped descent to the basin. Major Winship, with his deficient reefer, remained behind. "Finogenov had a clay samovar sent up.
 To him, it's a frivolous display of power and nothing more, especially when materials like aluminum are available.
 He wished he had the same luxury. The Americans have much less room to work with.  He's frustrated with the current situation and is finding himself envious of all the things they don't have.  It's too much of an effort to do something like that, making it a waste of time and resources.  To him, it's a frivolous display of power and nothing more, especially when materials like aluminum are available.