Korolev, Sergei Pavlovich

Russian designer of the first Soviet intercontinental missile, used to launch the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, and of the Vostok spacecraft in which Yuri Gagarin made the world's first space flight in 1961.

Korolev and his research team built the first Soviet liquid-fuel rocket, launched in 1933. His innovations in rocket and space technology include ballistic missiles, rockets for geophysical research, launch vehicles, and crewed spacecraft. Korolev was also responsible for the Voskhod spaceship, from which the first space walks were made.