Sergei Korolev
5 vehicles·OKB-1·1957-1972
Sergei Korolev was the anonymous 'Chief Designer' of the Soviet space program, his identity concealed by state secrecy until his death in 1966. He designed the R-7, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, then repurposed it to launch Sputnik, send Yuri Gagarin into orbit, and establish Soviet dominance in the early Space Race. Korolev's engineering genius and relentless drive delivered every major Soviet space first, from the first satellite to the first spacewalk.
