Photo credit: Roskosmos TV / youtube.com
Soviet scientist, designer of rocket and space systems Sergei Korolev was born 115 years ago. He made a huge contribution to the development of the space program of the Soviet Union, making it the first in the world to launch an artificial earth satellite and a spacecraft with a man on board, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.
During his lifetime, Sergei Korolev remained little known to a wide audience. In the newspapers, he was called the chief designer or K. Sergeev. Only after the death of Korolev, his compatriots and the whole world learned about the contribution he made to space exploration.
Сolleagues note that Sergei Korolev maintained friendly, almost kinship relations with the cosmonauts, calling them "orelics" (little eagles.) Alexei Leonov said that Korolev was "more than a father" for the cosmonauts. The designer's daughter Natalia Koroleva recalls that on the night before the flight of Yuri Gagarin, her father did not sleep and was very worried about the life of the first cosmonaut and the fate of the flight.
Monuments to Sergei Korolev have been installed in many cities not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Spain. Schools and streets bear his name, craters on the Moon and on Mars are named after Korolev.
A poll conducted by VTsIOM Public Opinion Research Center showed that Russians consider Sergei Korolev as one of the heroes of the Soviet era, along with Yuri Gagarin, Georgy Zhukov and other prominent Soviet citizens.
Russkiy Mir
