Sergei Korolev

Soviet aerospace engineer (1907–1966)

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (12 January 1907 [O.S. 30 December 1906] – 14 January 1966) was a Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer who led the development of the Soviet space program during the early years of the Space Race. Korolev directed development of the R-7 rocket, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and was a leader in the Soviet space programme which used modified versions of the R-7 for several notable achievements. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite; Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth; Luna 2, the first human-made object to reach another celestial body; and Belka and Strelka, the first animals to survive orbital spaceflight.

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