The genius behind early Russian space tech

[Gordon_R]

The genius behind early Russian space tech

The Soviet Union did not have many of the same technological advances enjoyed by Nasa – but that didn’t stop them leaping ahead of the Americans into space. Here’s how.

www.bbc.com

Only when he died in 1966 was the name of the Chief Designer, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, revealed to the world. This genius at the heart of the Russian space programme was one of the Soviet Union’s most closely guarded secrets.

Born in Ukraine, Korolev oversaw the design of the vast R7 rocket that launched the first satellite, first dog, first man, first woman and first spacewalker into orbit. He developed the capsules, control systems and rigorous checks that ensured that every person he sent into space during his lifetime came back alive.