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Who was the "father" of the Soviet space program?

Sergei P. Korolev (1907-1966), sometimes spelled "Korolyov," is considered the father of the Soviet space program. Largely due to the efforts of Korolev, the former Soviet Union became the first nation to put a satellite into orbit around the Earth, send a person into space, and land an unpiloted spacecraft on the moon.

Trained as an aeronautical engineer, in 1931 Korolev became director of the rocket research group in Moscow, Russia. During World War II (1939-45), Korolev was forced by the Soviet secret police to design aircraft and weapons for use in the war. In August 1957 he developed the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Soviets used a modified ICBM-rocket to launch the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957.

Korolev was next involved in designing the spacecraft Luna 3, which in 1959 gave humans...

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