Sergei Korolev

Sergei Korolev
Born	Sergey Pavlovich Korolev Сергей Павлович Королёв 12 January [O.S. 30 December 1906] 1907 Zhytomyr, Volhynian Governorate Russian Empire
Died	14 January 1966(1966-01-14) (aged 59) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Cause of death	Cancer, Tumor
Nationality	Soviet
Occupation	Rocket engineer, Chief Designer of the Soviet space program
Spouse(s)	Ksenia Vincentini Nina Ivanovna Kotenkova
Children	Natalya
Military career
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army
Years of service	1945–52
Rank	Polkovnik (colonel)

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (Russian: Серге́й Па́влович Королёв; IPA: [sʲɪrˈgʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf],Ukrainian: Сергі́й Па́влович Корольoв,Serhiy Pavlovych Korolyov), also transliterated as Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov; 12 January [O.S. 30 December 1906] 1907 – 14 January 1966) worked as the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s. He is considered by many as the father of practical astronautics.

Although Korolev trained as an aircraft designer, his greatest strengths proved to be in design integration, organization and strategic planning. Arrested for alleged mismanagement of funds (he spent the money on unsuccessful experiments with rocket devices), he was imprisoned in 1938 for almost six years, including some months in a Kolyma labour camp. Following his release he became a recognized rocket designer and a key figure in the development of the Soviet Intercontinental ballistic missile program. He was then appointed to lead the Soviet space program and made a Member of Soviet Academy of Sciences, overseeing the early successes of the Sputnik and Vostok projects including the first human Earth orbit mission by Yuri Alexeevich Gagarin on 12 April 1961. Korolev's unexpected death in 1966 interrupted implementation of his plans for a Soviet manned Moon landing before the United States 1969 mission.

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