"The path to the stars is open."
For his entire life, his name was a state secret. He was known only as Glavny Konstruktor. He survived the gulag to build the rocket that carried humanity into the cosmos.
Sergei Korolev was not just an engineer; he was a force of nature. He integrated the dreams of Tsiolkovsky with the reality of cold steel and kerosene.
First Artificial Satellite
First Human in Space
First Woman in Space
First Spacewalk
Korolev's masterpiece. The R-7 rocket family is the oldest and most reliable launch vehicle in history. It has flown over 1,700 times. A modern version, the Soyuz, is still in use today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.