Fifty years ago on April 12, Yuriy Gagarin became the first astronaut to orbit the earth, an achievement that the world still celebrates. But the historic flight may have never happened without such lesser-known heroes as Sergey Korolyov.
Korolyov, a Ukrainian aerospace engineer, designed the Vostok 1 space rocket that took Gagarin into the heavens. The Ukrainian’s role was a Soviet secret.
Only after his death in 1966 did Korolyov star getting public recognition as the chief genius behind Soviet successes in space. Korolyov was buried in the Kremlin Wall, the ultimate place of honor in the Soviet era.
Korolyov was born in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr in 1907. He was educated in Odessa Building Trades School, Kiev Polytechnic University and later Moscow Higher Technical School.
Korolyov was behind the design of the rocket for Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit our planet. It then became the most widely used rocket in the world.
Persecuted during Stalin’s ruthlessness in 1930s, Korolyov was accused of anti-Soviet activities and proclaimed an “enemy of the people” in 1938.
He spent six years in prison and several months in one of the most feared Soviet correctional institutions, the gulag in the Siberian region of Kolyma.
Overall, Korolyov was responsible for many successful Soviet space exploration projects. He was behind the design of the rocket for Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit our planet. It then became the most widely used rocket in the world.
Luna 3 is also associated with Korolyov’s engineering leadership. It took pictures of the moon and then sent them back to earth. He was also in charge of the Venera 3 mission that marked a new step in mankind with the first unmanned landing on Venus or any other planet for that matter.
Although it never came back, it allowed for some valuable scientific conclusions to be made about interplanetary space.
It was with the help of people like Korolyov that the Soviet Union was able to catch up with advanced Western nations in a short period of time.
Furthermore, Gagarin’s space flight in 1961 put the Soviets ahead in the space race, at least until Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969. One could only guess that, if Korolyov did not die in 1966, the Soviet Union could have continued its successful space exploration programs.
Through the passage of time, Korolyov’s achievements are seen as not just for the benefit of the Soviets, but for helping all mankind in conquering the unknown with “giant leaps.”
