Sergei Pavlovich Korolev is an academician whose name is known, as a rule, to all educated people on the planet. What is the reason for such popularity? What did this undoubtedly talented man manage to create that stories about him have been retold for several decades?

Like all Soviet scientists, he made a significant contribution to the development of world science. But that's not all. He was the first. The first who managed to conquer outer space. Of course, after him there were and will be the most talented specialists who dedicated and are devoting their work to the exploration of the galaxy. But it is Sergei Pavlovich Korolev who is considered a pioneer.

In fact, you can talk about this person endlessly, each time being surprised by his talent, perseverance and determination.

Section 1. Childhood and adolescence

Sergei Korolev, whose biography is quite rich, was born in the Ukrainian city of Zhitomir on January 12, 1907. His parents separated early, the boy did not remember his own father at all, as he was brought up in his mother’s family in the city of Nizhyn. It was there in 1911 that Sergei saw the pilot Utochkin flying in an airplane. To say that this event simply impressed him is to say nothing. The teenager was indescribably delighted.

In 1917, Korolev and his mother moved to Odessa to live with his stepfather. A detachment of seaplanes was then located in South Palmyra. And pure chance brought the teenager together with mechanic V. Dolganov, who subsequently began to teach him all the intricacies. The boy spent the whole summer with the crew, helping prepare the planes for flights, and for a very a short time was able to become an indispensable and trouble-free assistant to local mechanics and pilots.

Sergei Korolev was unable to immediately obtain a certificate of general secondary education; as a result, he graduated from a two-year construction school, where he studied very diligently. Throughout his studies, Korolev continued to participate in the life of the hydroaviation detachment. And the guy’s reputation as a brilliant mechanic was firmly established.

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was a member of the Aviation Society of Ukraine, gave lectures on gliding, and took part in the construction of a glider designed by the famous pilot K. A. Artseulov. After a while, he entered the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where he was considered one of the most educated fur students. faculty.

In 1926, after two years of study in Kyiv, the talented young man transferred to Moscow to major in aeromechanics (MVTU). In March 1927, Korolev graduated from gliding school with honors.

Section 2. Arrest and work for the KGB

In his autobiography, the chief designer recalled that he was arrested very unexpectedly (it happened on June 27, 1938) on charges of sabotage. Like many famous people at that time, he was subjected to torture. There is also evidence that both jaws were broken.

On September 25, 1938, the scientist was included in the list of special persons whose cases were considered by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. In that list he was listed in the first (execution) category. But the court on September 27, 1938 sentenced him to only 10 years in labor camp. A few years later, the term was reduced, and he was released in 1944. During this time, Sergei went through Butyrka in Moscow, a prison in Novocherkassk and Kolyma, where he was engaged in “general work” at a gold mine.

The future chief designer returned to Moscow on March 2, 1940, where just 4 months later he was convicted a second time. In the NKVD prison TsKB-29, he participated in the construction of Pe-2 and Tu-2 bombers. Such talents were the reason for Korolev’s transfer to another design bureau at aircraft plant No. 16 in Kazan. In 1943 he was appointed to a responsible position in production rocket launchers. In July 1944, the scientist was released early on the personal orders of I.V. Stalin.

Section 3. Sergei Korolev - academician. Scientific works

Achievements in the field deserve special attention. So, this talented Soviet specialist took part in the following projects aimed at:

• Development In 1956, under his strict leadership, a two-stage ballistic missile R-7 was created, its modification was in service with the USSR Strategic Missile Forces. In 1957, he created the first rockets powered by stable fuel components.
• Creation of the first artificial satellite of our planet. S.P. Korolev developed it on the basis of a combat rocket with a three- and four-stage carrier. As a result, this one was launched on October 4, 1957.
• Construction of various satellites and launching vehicles to the Moon. Among other things, he managed to develop a geophysical satellite, paired Electron satellites and automatic stations to the Moon.
• The assembly of the Vostok-1 manned spacecraft, which made possible the world's first human flight - Yu. A. Gagarin - in low-Earth orbit. For this, the Queen was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time.

Section 4. Love and space of a scientist

Korolev’s first kiss with the girl of his dreams, oddly enough, happened on the roof. He lived in Odessa and fell in love with Ksenia Vincentini, sought her favor for a long time, and only before leaving for the Kiev Polytechnic Institute did he propose to her. Ksenia replied that she would wait until Sergei finished his studies. It so happened that she studied to become a doctor in Kharkov, and he studied in Kyiv, and then in Moscow. Korolev constantly tried to get Ksenia’s consent to the marriage; she resisted for several more years, but in the end she became his wife, and Sergei took his beloved to Moscow.

However, unfortunately, soon after this, Korolev quickly loses interest in his wife and becomes interested in other women. As a result, such adventures of the husband brought the woman to this point and she decides to leave him. Their daughter Natasha found out about her father’s “infidelities” at the age of 12, and as a result, the rift between daughter and father remained for the rest of his life.

It turns out that the famous Academician Korolev was never able to become loving and caring husband and father.

Section 5. Exhausting inner loneliness

His second wife, Nina, had no easier time with his adventures. Sergei Pavlovich continued to disappear on endless business trips, suffering from loneliness.

He often turns to his wife for advice, writes letters to her, talks about his difficulties and experiences, eternal problems in his soul and But soon she begins to get tired of his eternal torment and confessions, she stops responding to them, and he feels even more lonely.

Section 6: Medical History and Death

Everything happened too suddenly. A man lived, worked for the good of his Motherland, glorified his country, when suddenly he was gone. There were no solemn speeches, no magnificent funerals, or even articles on the topic “S.P. Korolev, a world-famous academician, has passed away.”

Citizens of the USSR learned about what happened from the press. On January 16, 1966, a medical report on the cause of Korolev’s death was published in the Pravda newspaper. It turned out that he for a long time was ill, and several serious diseases plagued him at once: sarcoma of the rectum, sclerosis of the arteries of the brain, and Just on this day, Sergei Pavlovich underwent surgery to remove the tumor, but he died due to heart failure right on the operating table, without regaining consciousness.

Chief designer of OKB-1 1946 - 1966
Predecessor:	Position established
Successor:	Vasily Pavlovich Mishin
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:	Zhitomir city, Volyn province, Russian empire
Date of death:
A place of death:	Moscow, USSR
	Russian empire USSR
Scientific field:	Rocket science
Place of work:
Academic title:	Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1958)
Alma mater:
Known as:	Founder of Soviet cosmonautics
Awards and prizes:

Arrest and work in closed design bureaus

Man in space

Orbital station project

Lunar project

Medical history and death

Official version

Details from memoirs

Funeral

Awards and titles

In philately

Interesting Facts

(December 30, 1906 (January 12, 1907), Zhitomir - January 14, 1966, Moscow) - Soviet scientist, designer and organizer of the production of rocket and space technology and missile weapons USSR, founder of practical cosmonautics. The largest figure of the 20th century in the field of space rocketry and shipbuilding.

S.P. Korolev is the creator of Soviet rocket and space technology, which ensured strategic parity and made the USSR an advanced rocket and space power. Is key figure in human space exploration. Thanks to his ideas, the first artificial Earth satellite and the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, were launched.

Twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin Prize, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Member of the CPSU since 1953. Lieutenant colonel.

Biography

S. P. Korolev was born on January 12, 1907 in the city of Zhitomir (then the Russian Empire, modern Ukraine) in the family of Russian literature teacher Pavel Yakovlevich Korolev (1877-1929) and Maria Nikolaevna Moskalenko (1888-1980). He was about three years old when his parents divorced. By the decision of his mother, little Seryozha was sent to Nezhin to his grandmother Maria Matveevna and grandfather Nikolai Yakovlevich Moskalenko.

In 1915 he entered the preparatory classes of the gymnasium in Kyiv, in 1917 he went to the first grade of the gymnasium in Odessa, where his mother, Maria Nikolaevna, and stepfather, Georgy Mikhailovich Balanin, moved.

I didn’t study at the gymnasium for long - it was closed, then there were four months of a unified labor school. Then he received his education at home - his mother and stepfather were teachers, and his stepfather, in addition to teaching, had an engineering education.

Also in school years Sergei was distinguished by exceptional abilities and an indomitable desire for the then new aviation technology. In 1922-1924 he studied at a construction vocational school, participating in many clubs and taking various courses.

In 1921, he met the pilots of the Odessa hydraulic squad and actively participated in aviation public life: from the age of 16 as a lecturer on eliminating aviation illiteracy, and from the age of 17 - as the author of the project for the K-5 non-motorized aircraft, which was officially defended before the competent commission and recommended for construction.

Having entered the Kiev Polytechnic Institute in 1924 with a specialization in aviation technology, Korolev mastered general engineering disciplines there in two years and became a glider athlete. In the fall of 1926, he was transferred to the Moscow Higher Technical School (MVTU) named after N. E. Bauman.

During his studies at the Moscow Higher Technical School, S.P. Korolev already gained fame as a young, capable aircraft designer and an experienced glider pilot. In 1955, Korolev wrote: “Back in 1929, I met K. E. Tsiolkovsky, and since then I have devoted my life to new area Sciences". From this trip, Sergei Pavlovich brought several works by Tsiolkovsky with a dedicatory inscription. This year Korolev worked on diploma work- project of the SK-4 aircraft, and on November 2, on the Firebird glider, he passed the exams for the title of soaring pilot. The aircraft he designed and built: the Koktebel and Krasnaya Zvezda gliders and the SK-4 light aircraft, designed to achieve a record flight range, showed Korolev’s extraordinary abilities as an aircraft designer. However, especially after meeting with K. E. Tsiolkovsky, he was fascinated by thoughts about flights into the stratosphere and principles jet propulsion. In September 1931, S.P. Korolev and a talented enthusiast in the field of rocket engines F.A. Tsander sought to create in Moscow with the help of Osoaviakhim public organization- Jet Propulsion Research Group (GIRD): In April 1932, it essentially became a state research and design laboratory for the development of rocket aircraft, in which the first domestic liquid-ballistic missiles (BR) GIRD-09 and GIRD-10 were created and launched.

In 1933, on the basis of the Moscow GIRD and the Leningrad Gas Dynamic Laboratory (GDL), the Jet Research Institute was created under the leadership of I. T. Kleimenov. Korolev was appointed his deputy. However, differences in views on the prospects for the development of rocket technology forced Korolev to leave this post. He, as the head of the rocket aircraft department, in 1936 managed to bring cruise missiles to testing: anti-aircraft-217 with a powder rocket engine and long-range-212 with a liquid rocket engine. In his department, by 1938, designs for liquid-fueled cruise and ballistic missiles had been developed long range, aircraft missiles for firing at air and ground targets and anti-aircraft solid-fuel missiles.

Arrest and work in closed design bureaus

Korolev was arrested on June 27, 1938 on charges of sabotage after the arrest of Ivan Terentyevich Kleimenov and other employees of the Jet Institute. He was tortured. According to some reports, his jaw was broken during torture. The author of this version is journalist Ya. Golovanov. However, in his book he emphasizes that this is only a version:

In February 1988, I talked with corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Efuni. Sergei Naumovich told me about the 1966 operation, during which Sergei Pavlovich died. Efuni himself took part in it only at a certain stage, but, being at that time the leading anesthesiologist of the 4th Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Health, he knew all the details of this tragic event. Anesthesiologist Yuri Ilyich Savinov encountered an unforeseen circumstance, said Sergei Naumovich. - In order to give anesthesia, it was necessary to insert a tube, but Korolev could not open his mouth wide. He had fractures of two jaws... Did Sergei Pavlovich have his jaws broken? - I asked Korolev’s wife, Nina Ivanovna. “He never mentioned it,” she replied thoughtfully. “He really couldn’t open his mouth wide, and I remember: when he had to go to the dentist, he was always nervous ... Korolev writes clearly: “investigators Shestakov and Bykov subjected me to physical repression and abuse.” But I cannot prove that Nikolai Mikhailovich Shestakov broke the jaws of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. Unfortunately, no one can prove this anymore. You can't even prove that you hit him. That he just pushed. I repeat again: I cannot prove anything, there is no such evidence in nature. I can only try to see. There is no other evidence confirming that Korolev’s jaw was broken during interrogations.

On September 25, 1938, Korolev was included in the list of persons subject to trial by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. On the list he was in the first (execution) category. The list was endorsed by Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich.

This was a time of change in the leadership of the NKVD and repressions had already reduced their scope. Therefore, court decisions did not so blindly follow the recommendations of the NKVD. Korolev was convicted by the Military Collegium Supreme Court USSR September 27, 1938, charge: Art. 58-7, 11. Sentence: 10 years of labor camp, 5 years of disqualification. On June 10, 1940, the term was reduced to 8 years in the ITL (Sevzheldorlag), released in 1944. Completely rehabilitated on April 18, 1957.

On April 21, 1939, he arrived in Kolyma, where he was located at the Maldyak gold mine of the Western Mining Administration and was engaged in so-called “general work.” On December 23, 1939, he was sent to the disposal of Vladlag.

He arrived in Moscow on March 2, 1940, where four months later he was tried a second time by a Special Meeting, sentenced to 8 years in prison and sent to the Moscow NKVD special prison TsKB-29, where, under the leadership of A. N. Tupolev, also a prisoner, he took an active part in the creation Pe-2 and Tu-2 bombers and at the same time proactively developed projects for a guided aerial torpedo and a new version of a missile interceptor.

This was the reason for the transfer of S.P. Korolev in 1942 to another prison-type design bureau - OKB-16 at the Kazan aircraft plant No. 16 (now - Open Joint-Stock Company"Kazan Engine Production Association" /JSC KMPO/), where work was carried out on new types of rocket engines for the purpose of using them in aviation. Here S.P. Korolev, with his characteristic enthusiasm, devotes himself to the idea practical use rocket engines for the improvement of aviation: reducing the length of the aircraft's takeoff run during takeoff and increasing the speed and dynamic characteristics of aircraft during air combat. At the beginning of 1943, he was appointed chief designer of the rocket launch group. Was engaged in improvement technical characteristics Pe-2 dive bomber, whose first flight took place in October 1943.

According to the memoirs attributed to L. L. Kerber, S. P. Korolev was a skeptic, a cynic and a pessimist, who looked absolutely gloomily at the future, “They will slam without an obituary,” was his favorite phrase. At the same time, there is a statement by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov regarding S.P. Korolev: “He was never embittered... He never complained, never cursed or scolded anyone. He didn't have time for that. He understood that it is not a creative impulse that causes anger, but oppression.”

In July 1944, S.P. Korolev was released early from prison with his criminal record expunged, after which he worked in Kazan for another year. On January 12, 2007, a high relief of S.P. was inaugurated on the building (entrance) of OJSC KMPO. Queen of work sculptor M. M. Gasimov.

Ballistic missile development

Speaking about the design of Soviet missiles that followed the R-1, it is difficult to distinguish between the time periods for their creation. So, Korolev was thinking about the R-2 back in Germany, when the R-1 project had not yet been discussed, he was developing the R-5 even before the delivery of the R-2, and even earlier, work began on the small mobile rocket R-11, and the first calculations for intercontinental missile R-7.

In August 1946, S.P. Korolev began working in Kaliningrad near Moscow (then renamed Korolev in 1996), where he was appointed chief designer of long-range ballistic missiles and head of department No. 3 of NII-88 for their development.

The first task set by the government to S.P. Korolev, as the chief designer, and all organizations involved in missile weapons, was to create an analogue of the V-2 rocket from domestic materials. But already in 1947, a decree was issued on the development of new ballistic missiles with a greater flight range than the V-2: up to 3000 km. In 1948, S.P. Korolev began flight design tests of the R-1 ballistic missile (analogous to the V-2) and in 1950 successfully put it into service.

During 1954 alone, Korolev was simultaneously working on various modifications of the R-1 rocket (R-1A, R-1B, R-1B, R-1D, R-1E), finishing work on the R-5 and planning five different modifications of it. , completes complex and responsible work on the R-5M missile - with a nuclear warhead. They're coming full swing work on R-11 and its marine version R-11FM, and the intercontinental R-7 is acquiring increasingly clear features.

In 1956, under the leadership of S.P. Korolev, the first domestic strategic missile, which became the basis of the rocket nuclear shield countries. In 1957, Sergei Pavlovich created the first ballistic missiles (mobile land-based and sea-based) using stable fuel components; he became a pioneer in these new and important directions of development missile weapons.

In 1960, the first one entered service. intercontinental missile R-7, which had two rocket stages. This was also a victory for S.P. Korolev and his employees.

The first artificial satellite of the Earth

In 1955 (long before the flight tests of the R-7 rocket), S. P. Korolev, M. V. Keldysh, M. K. Tikhonravov came to the government with a proposal to launch an artificial Earth satellite into space using the R-7 rocket ). The government supported this initiative. In August 1956, OKB-1 left NII-88 and became an independent organization, the chief designer and director of which was appointed S.P. Korolev.

To implement manned flights and launch automatic space stations S.P. Korolev developed a family of perfect three-stage and four-stage launch vehicles based on a combat rocket.

On October 4, 1957, the first satellite in human history was launched into low-Earth orbit. His flight was a stunning success and created high international authority for the Soviet Union.

“It was small, this very first artificial satellite of our old planet, but its ringing call signs spread across all continents and among all peoples as the embodiment of the daring dream of mankind,” S.P. Korolev later said.

Postal envelopes

Other satellites and launches of spacecraft to the Moon

In parallel with the rapid development of manned space exploration, work is underway on satellites for scientific, economic and defense purposes. In 1958, a geophysical satellite was developed and launched into space, and then paired Electron satellites to study the Earth's radiation belts. In 1959, three automatic spacecraft to the moon. The first and second - for delivering a pennant to the Moon Soviet Union, the third for the purpose of photographing the far (invisible) side of the Moon. Subsequently, S.P. Korolev began developing a more advanced lunar apparatus for its soft landing on the surface of the Moon, photographing and transmitting a lunar panorama to Earth (object E-6).

Man in space

April 12, 1961 S.P. Korolev again amazes the world community. Having created the first manned spacecraft "Vostok-1", he realized the world's first human flight - USSR citizen Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin in low-Earth orbit. Sergei Pavlovich is in no hurry to solve the problem of human exploration of outer space. The first spaceship made only one revolution: no one knew how a person would feel during such a long period of weightlessness, what psychological stress would affect him during unusual and unexplored times. space travel. Following the first flight of Yu. A. Gagarin, on August 6, 1961, German Stepanovich Titov made a second space flight on the Vostok-2 spacecraft, which lasted one day. Again - a scrupulous analysis of the influence of flight conditions on the functioning of the body. Then the joint flight of the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft, piloted by cosmonauts A.G. Nikolaev and P.R. Popovich, from August 11 to 12, 1962; Direct radio communication was established between the astronauts. The following year - a joint flight of cosmonauts V.F. Bykovsky and V.V. Tereshkova on the Vostok-5 and Vostok-6 spacecraft from June 14 to 16, 1963 - the possibility of a woman flying into space is being studied. Behind them - from October 12 to 13, 1964 - in space a crew from three people various specialties: ship commander, flight engineer and doctor on the more complex Voskhod spacecraft. On March 18, 1965, during a flight on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with a crew of two, cosmonaut A. A. Leonov makes the world's first spacewalk in a spacesuit through the airlock chamber.

Orbital station project

Continuing to develop the program of manned near-Earth flights, Sergei Pavlovich begins to implement his ideas about the development of a manned DOS (long-term orbital station). Its prototype was a fundamentally new, more advanced than previous ones, Soyuz spacecraft. This ship included a living compartment, where cosmonauts could stay for a long time without spacesuits and spend Scientific research. During the flight, automatic docking in orbit of two Soyuz spacecraft and the transfer of cosmonauts from one spacecraft to another through outer space in spacesuits were also envisaged. Sergei Pavlovich did not live to see his ideas implemented in the Soyuz spacecraft.

Lunar project

Back in the mid-1950s, Korolev hatched ideas for launching a man to the Moon. The corresponding space program was developed with the support of N. S. Khrushchev. However, this program was never implemented during Sergei Pavlovich’s lifetime due to the lack of unity of command (the program was developed under the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Defense, in which Korolev did not work), disagreements with the chief designer of rocket engines V.P. Glushko, as well as a change in the leadership of the CPSU - L.I. Brezhnev did not attach the same importance to the lunar program as Khrushchev. After the death of Sergei Pavlovich, the program for launching astronauts to the Moon was gradually curtailed. The Soviet lunar exploration program was subsequently carried out using unmanned spacecraft.

Medical history and death

Official version

• The official medical report was published on January 16, 1966. Is it true. 1966. No. 16 (17333).

“Medical report on the illness and cause of death of a comrade Korolev Sergei Pavlovich."

Comrade S.P. Korolev was sick with sarcoma of the rectum. In addition, he had: atherosclerotic cardiosclerosis, sclerosis of the cerebral arteries, pulmonary emphysema and metabolic disorders. S.P. Korolev underwent surgery to remove the tumor with extirpation of the rectum and part of the sigmoid colon. Death of Comrade S.P. Koroleva suffered from heart failure (acute myocardial ischemia).

Minister of Health of the USSR, full member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor B.V. Petrovsky; full member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor A. A. Vishnevsky; head of the surgical department of the hospital, associate professor, candidate of medical sciences D. F. Blagovidov; Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor A. I. Strukov; Head of the Fourth Main Directorate under the USSR Ministry of Health, Honored Scientist, Professor A.M. Markov.

Details from memoirs

• Sergei Pavlovich was operated on by the Minister of Health of the USSR, full member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor B.V. Petrovsky, and Petrovsky was assisted by the head of the surgical department, associate professor, candidate of medical sciences D.F. Blagovidov.
• It was not possible to stop the bleeding by removing the polyps. They decided to open the abdominal cavity. When they began to get to the site of the bleeding, they discovered a tumor the size of a fist. It was sarcoma - malignant tumor. Petrovsky decided to remove the sarcoma. At the same time, part of the rectum was removed. It was necessary to remove the remaining part through the peritoneum.
• Due to an untreated injury received in exile (according to the version, see above, the investigator broke Korolev’s jaw by hitting Sergei Pavlovich on the cheekbone with a decanter. Due to unsuccessful bone fusion, Korolev could not open his mouth wide enough even while eating), difficulties arose in tracheal intubation. They could not insert a breathing tube into his trachea correctly.

Funeral

The coffin with the body of the late S.P. Korolev was installed in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. Access to farewell to the deceased was opened on January 17, 1966 from 12 noon to 8 pm.

• The funeral with state honors took place on Red Square in Moscow on January 18 at 13:00. The urn with the ashes of S.P. Korolev is buried in the Kremlin wall.

Family

After Korolev's death the following remained:

• his mother is Maria Nikolaevna Balanina;
• first wife - Ksenia Maximilianovna Vincentini, who had a daughter from him - Natalya;
• second wife - Nina Ivanovna.

Contribution

Sergei Korolev was the generator of many extraordinary ideas and the progenitor of outstanding design teams working in the field of rocket and space technology; his contribution to the development of domestic and world manned astronautics is decisive. One can only be amazed at the versatility of Sergei Pavlovich’s talent and his inexhaustible creative energy. He is a pioneer in many main areas of development of domestic missile weapons and rocket and space technology. It is difficult to even imagine what level she would have reached if the premature death of Sergei Pavlovich had not interrupted the creative flight of his thoughts.

In 1966, the USSR Academy of Sciences established gold medal named after S.P. Korolev “For outstanding achievements in the field of rocket and space technology.” Scholarships named after S. P. Korolev were established for higher education students educational institutions. Monuments to the scientist were erected in Zhitomir, Moscow, Baikonur, and other cities, and memorial house-museums were created. The Samara State Aerospace University, a city in the Moscow region, the streets of many cities, two research vessels, a high mountain peak in the Pamirs, a pass in the Tien Shan, an asteroid, a thalassoid on the Moon bear his name.

Awards and titles

• Twice Hero of Socialist Labor.
• He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honor and medals.
• Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
• Lenin Prize laureate.
• Honorary citizen of the city of Korolev.

Memory

Named in honor of Korolev and bear his name:

• Science city Korolev, Moscow region (renamed in 1996 from “Kaliningrad”). The central avenue of this city also bears the name of Korolev.
• Crater on Mars.
• Crater on back side Moons.
• Asteroid 1855 Korolev.
• Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia named after. S. P. Koroleva.
• SSAU - Samara State Aerospace University named after. Academician S.P. Korolev. In 2011, a bust of Sergei Korolev was installed near SSAU.
• Military Institute in Zhitomir.
• Medal named after S.P. Korolev, awarded by the Russian Cosmonautics Federation.
• Korolev Badge, departmental award of the Federal Space Agency.
• House of Culture named after S.P. Korolev in Kyiv.

In philately

Year of birth of Korolev postage stamps different - sometimes according to the old style, sometimes according to the new one.

Postage stamps and envelopes

• Following the stage from Butyrka prison to Kolyma, Korolev spent some time in Novocherkassk prison.
• Returning from Kolyma to Moscow, Korolev did not get on the Indigirka steamship in Magadan (due to all the seats being occupied). This saved Korolev’s life: while traveling from Magadan to Vladivostok, the steamship Indigirka was caught in a storm and sank off the island of Hokkaido.
• Soon after the war, the British demonstrated the launch of a German V-2 rocket (the launch was carried out by German specialists). On instructions from management, Korolev arrived under a false name, under the guise of an artillery captain Soviet army. But they forgot to provide him with the awards that front-line officers had. And representatives of British intelligence became very interested in this “captain”.
• Korolev were the first in the world to implement:
• launch of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space
• launching an artificial earth satellite into space,
• launching a satellite into space with a living creature - dog Laika,
• launching a ballistic missile from a submarine.
• Korolev is the only person in the history of the USSR who received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor without being rehabilitated (the title was awarded on April 20, 1956, and rehabilitated on April 18, 1957).
• During his lifetime, Korolev’s name was considered secret. It was not mentioned either in the news during the launch of Sputnik or during Gagarin’s flight. Nevertheless, after his death, streets began to be named after Korolev, monuments were erected to him, and he himself was buried near the Kremlin wall. Soviet propaganda spoke of him as a brilliant scientist, the founder of astronautics, but kept silent about the fact of his arrest.

Movies

Feature and television

• Taming of Fire (film) - ("Bashkirtsev" - Kirill Lavrov).
• Running start - about the youth of S. P. Korolev, 1982.
• Alien ship (film) (Oleg Tabakov).
• Korolev (film) - (Sergei Astakhov).
• Battle for Space (TV series) (as Korolev - Steve Nicholson).
• “Cedar” pierces the sky (Igor Sklyar, 2011).
• Furtseva (TV series) (Alexey Yanin, 2011).

Documentary

• Sergey Korolev. Fate - creative workshop “Studio A”, “Channel One”, 2004.
• Liberation of the designer - TV company "Civilization", cycle "Empire Queen". Film 1st. TV channel Culture, 2006.
• Trophy space - TV company "Civilization", cycle "Empire Queen". Film 2. TV channel Culture, 2006.
• Inaccessible Moon - TV company "Civilization", cycle "Empire Queen". Film 3. TV channel Culture, 2006.
• Tsar Rocket. Interrupted flight - Roscosmos TV studio, TV Center, 2006.
• The world consists of stars and people - TV Channel Culture, 2006.
• The first on Mars. The unsung song of Sergei Korolev - Roscosmos television studio, 2007.
• Sergei Korolev. Knocking on Heaven - Prospekt TV studio, Channel One, 2007.
• Sergiy Korolov - NTU, 2007, (in Russian-Ukrainian language).
• Five deaths of Academician Korolev - Studio “07 Production”, TV channel “Inter”, 2009, (in Russian-Ukrainian language).
• Korolev. Countdown - NTV channel, 2010.
• Sergey Korolev. Life at cosmic speed - Roscosmos television studio, Russian Space program, Russia-2 TV channel, 2011.

We continue to publish materials on the development of domestic astronautics. Today our story is dedicated to Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. Thanks to his talent as a scientist and the character of a commander, world science and technology were enriched with many wonderful discoveries, and a huge contribution was made to space exploration.

Childhood and adolescence

In the Ukrainian town of Zhitomir, a son was born in the family of engineer Pavel Yakovlevich Korolev in 1907. But soon after Seryozha’s birth, the family broke up, and his mother gave her little son to the care of her parents in Nizhyn. Here A five-year-old boy saw an airplane fly for the first time. The turns of a huge, man-made bird, controlled by man, captured his imagination.

Soon Sergei, his mother and stepfather settled in Odessa. Teenager spent hours watching seaplanes fly over the sea, cherishing the dream of flying. The pilots noticed an inquisitive, smart boy and soon he became a reliable assistant to the mechanic of the hydraulic squad. And finally the day came when he was allowed to take off in a seaplane. The impressions of the flight only strengthened his desire to connect his life with aeronautics.

Seryozha studied at home under the guidance of his stepfather and mother, I read a lot about aviation. He entered school only at the age of 15. He studied with pleasure, impressing his teachers with his excellent memory and clear thinking. Already at this age he was distinguished by his organization, combining study, work, sport sections and even music. His every day was planned down to the minute, but when a gliding circle opened in the city, the young man became an active participant. And a year later he presented his first project of a non-motorized aircraft.

Birth of a dream

In the 1930s, interest in extra-atmospheric flights and space in general appeared in Russia. A society of interplanetary flight enthusiasts organized in Moscow. He becomes an honorary member of society. His idea of ​​making extra-stratospheric flights on jet vehicles was fueled by science fiction novels, giving rise to new bold ideas and projects.

In 1930, a meeting between Sergei Korolev and K. E. Tsiolkovsky took place. The conversation between these two people predetermined not only the fate of the future general designer, but also the entire space industry. Parting with Tsiolkovsky, he was already firmly convinced - from now on, the meaning of his life will be the creation of rockets and flight to other celestial bodies. The young man was especially attracted by the Red Planet - Mars. Since then, he has subordinated his every step to the fulfillment of this dream.

At the Moscow Institute, where Sergei studied, lectures on aircraft engineering were given by the famous aircraft designer Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev. He noticed a talented student and took him for an internship at his design bureau, becoming the head of his graduation project. Their friendship and cooperation continued for many years.

First rocket

In the newly created GIRD group during these years, which united rocketry enthusiasts, Sergei headed the technical council. Here On his life's path he meets a true like-minded person - F.A. Zander. For a whole year, their youth team worked for free, devoting all their time and energy to the new business. Two years later, the first liquid Soviet rocket took off into the sky. In 18 seconds, it moved 400m away from its home planet. And let her life path was short-lived. But it was a success! This means they are on the right track.

Arrest and work in closed design bureaus

The year 1933 brought good news to the Girdovites - the Jet Research Institute was created. The work on creating rockets has entered a qualitatively new level.

But wave of repression, which swept across the country in 1937, overwhelmed many prominent specialists in the aviation industry. In 1938, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was also arrested. Many hours interrogations and unbearable living conditions did not break him. On the wall of Butyrka prison he left calculations for his first radio-controlled rocket.

After 2 years, Korolev ends up in a new place of detention - a Moscow special prison, where works together with Tupolev in the prison design bureau on the design of new bombers and guided aerial torpedoes. “Zeks” are first-class engineers and designers who worked with great dedication on defense orders.

A year before the end of the war, Korolev is released. And already in 1945 he was appointed chief technical director of the research institute for the study of the German V-2 rocket.

Missiles are defense and science

For this purpose, Korolev and a group of Soviet specialists are sent to Germany. Where the British organized an exhibition of this the latest weapons Wehrmacht. Thorough Study V-2, it was necessary to build its complete analogue, but from domestic materials. The task was completed.

The Soviet equivalent of the missile was known as the R-1. But Korolev’s design ideas work tirelessly. With his enthusiasm and efficiency, he infects the entire team working on the order. Sergey Pavlovich is designing a missile capable of hitting targets at a distance of 600 km.

The arms race that unfolded against the backdrop of the Cold War showed the need to create intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge. Korolev brilliantly solves this problem. Thanks to his scientific genius the military industry was equipped with medium- and intercontinental-range missiles. They became the basis of the USSR's nuclear missile shield. It was followed by more advanced models with a flight range of up to 3000 km.

Space Assault

Working on orders from the War Ministry, Sergei Pavlovich never never parted with the dream of human space flight. In parallel with his work in the defense industry, he uses the vertical launch of R-1 and R-5 rockets to study near space and the influence of various cosmic factors on highly developed animals. The means of their life support and return to earth were worked out very carefully. Thus he laid the foundation for human space flight.

The space age of mankind dates back to October 4, 1957. It was on this day that he began his journey around his home planet. For two weeks, radio amateurs around the world listened with bated breath to his call signs.

In two years The first rocket launches towards the Moon, the next one delivers a pennant with the coat of arms of the USSR to its surface, photographs the side of our satellite invisible from Earth and transmits the pictures to Earth.

And on April 12, 1961, the whole world rejoiced when it learned about the fantastic news -. The first spaceship made only one revolution, because no one imagined how weightlessness and psychological stress would affect a person. This was followed by longer flights with various tasks and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov going into outer space.

Sergei Pavlovich is very treated the astronauts with care, often talked with them, highly appreciated their courage and dedication to the profession.

Under the leadership of Korolev, projects for interplanetary stations and satellites were developed for various purposes, new spaceships. The pinnacle of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev’s design thought was the flight of ships to Mars and Venus, the creation of the Molniya-1 communications satellite.

So this outstanding designer, an excellent organizer, step by step, realized his youthful dream - an assault on space.

Invisible Man

He passed away the day before his 59th birthday in 1966. And only then did the country and the whole world learn the name and surname of the person whom the press, radio and television were simply called General Designer. The secrecy regime has been lifted.

During his lifetime, Academician Korolev was awarded two orders of Hero of Socialist Labor. Recognition of his enormous services to humanity were monuments erected in his homeland, in the Moscow region, where the great designer built ships and at the cosmodrome, where the road to the Universe began.

History does not know a person who loved the sky more intensely and devotedly.

If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you

> Sergey Korolev

Biography of Sergei Korolev (1906 -1966)

Short biography:

Place of Birth: Zhitomir, Volyn province, Russian Empire

A place of death: Moscow, RSFSR, USSR

– Soviet scientist and design engineer: biography with photos, rocket designer, launch of the first rocket of the USSR, the first Earth satellite, Yuri Gagarin.

His whole life is filled with curious events that ultimately helped the scientist stay alive. For my short life he managed to avoid death many times, for example, when he was flying on an airplane, a malfunction occurred and the device crashed, but the Soviet scientist miraculously remained alive. Then absurd accusations were brought against the outstanding designer, and he became an “enemy of the people,” after which he was to be shot, but he was lucky and in the end the scientist ended up in a camp, from which he left after a while. He always said that he was protected by a guardian angel, because he saved him from death on a ship in Pacific Ocean, which he was late for. He remained intact after many curious situations, because he had to complete one important mission, and thanks to his abilities he would introduce humanity to the cosmic world. And this man's name Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who was born on January 19, 1907 in Zhitomir. His whole life was connected with space, and that’s why he simply loved the vastness of the sky, and, of course, beautiful women - another of his weaknesses.

Korolev loved the expanses of the sky so much that when he fell in love with his first, he kissed the charming lady on the roof of his house in Odessa. This girl was Ksenia Vincentina or simply Lyalya, but, unfortunately, for this temptress Seryozha was just another fan who joined her numerous list. In order to somehow attract attention to himself, Korolev had to use not only his logic, but also his athletic skills, because he walked upside down and stood on his hands on the edge of the roof in the morgue. And in the end, a miracle happened, the girl melted, after much effort the Queen finally allowed herself to be kissed, and this happened on the roof.

When Serezha graduated from school, he firmly decided to join the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, choosing the aviation department. But before leaving, the guy proposed to Lyalya, but the girl refused, citing the fact that she loves him very much, but will marry him only if he learns and starts earning money on his own to support his family.

But after the Kyiv institute, he continued his education at the Moscow Higher Technical School in Moscow, and the young charmer received her education in Kharkov at the medical institute, and after graduation she was assigned to the Donbass. And so the young scientist ends up in this city and again tries to woo the girl, offering her his hand and heart, but Lyalya does not want to give her consent to the marriage again. And now she argues that the young people are in completely different cities and they will have to live like this for a long time, then why get married? But Korolev was a very decisive person and is trying to get Lyalya’s authorities to let her go early and after that she agreed to connect her life with his and in 1931 they got married and after that the young family moved to Moscow for permanent residence.

But the most unexpected thing happens: the Queen, after 7 long years of effort, ceases to be interested in his wife, and he begins to look at other handsome men. His friends even told one story that when Lyalya was cleaning his jacket, she accidentally found two tickets to the Bolshoi Theater, which her husband tactfully kept silent about, but the girl was not at a loss and decided to play a most interesting game. She asked her old admirer to take her to this performance, and when she entered the hall with her boyfriend in uniform, she seemed to accidentally run into her husband and his beautiful companion at the door. Of course, Korolev’s reaction was predictable; he quickly began to make excuses and say that it happened at the last moment. He offered to meet after the performance and go home together, but his wife did not want to and hinted that she had someone to go with. What ultimately happened is not known, but in the end the young people still went home together.

Similar stories happened over the years and eventually Ksenia’s patience ran out, and she poured out all her grievances in a letter to his mother in 1948, writing to her that she had endured all his grievances for a long time and had experienced a lot of grief and grief throughout their life together. She was freed from them only when Seryozha was sent to prison in 1938. Now she firmly decided that she wanted to give him the opportunity to live as he wanted, despite the fact that she still had feelings for her husband, because only in this way would she free herself from this heavy burden.

Although Korolev and his wife were together for a total of 25 years, they still lived for about 8, and all these years they lived as if they were strangers and saw each other for moments. A little daughter named Natasha loved her mother very much and blindly obeyed her. Ksenia did not hide from the little girl the reason why her parents separated, and therefore the girl already at the age of 12 knew that her father very often offended her mother with his constant infidelities. Therefore, Natasha decided to tear all the surviving photographs of her father into small pieces and told him that she no longer wanted to have anything in common with him. The tense relationship between daughter and father lasted throughout their lives, and those fleeting meetings that they had were dry and tense. Even when she got married, the young girl didn’t even want to call her father. There are references that when Sergei Korolev was in Baikonur, he had the opportunity to congratulate his daughter on her birthday by calling her, but the girl, not wanting to talk to him, hung up the phone all the time, which brought tears to her father.

The second wife of Sergei Korolev also experienced the same suffering as the first. Because a man could very easily start a relationship with any representative of the fairer sex. Even with his second wife, he began a relationship simply and without constraint, because he conquered her with his simplicity and sociability. They met when a young translator came to his office to simply translate the required article, but the girl did not cope with the task the first time, because she was overwhelmed with a huge number of incomprehensible terms and she had to come to him more than once . Then the man invited her to reap and dance, and in the end Nina spent the night with him.

After a while, the girl married him and was not at all afraid of the big age difference. But the newly-made husband, although he had new wife, but still spent his time on constant business trips and was not at home at all. But Korolev writes to his wife all the time and pours out his soul to her, thereby as if asking her for an apology for everything he has done. He tells her all the time that she is his closest friend, but not his wife. And as a result, the girl begins to get tired of this state of affairs.

Let's take a little look at the biography of the scientist and designer.

Sergei Korolev was born on January 12, 1907 in Zhitomir. He was an outstanding man and a brilliant designer Thanks to his efforts and excellent leadership, the group that studied jet propulsion launched the first rocket in the Soviet Union on August 17, 1933. After these events in 1938, Korolev was arrested because it was believed that he was causing harm while being part of an anti-Soviet organization. At first he was given a preventive measure in the form of imprisonment for a period of 10 years, but then they decided that this was too much and reduced it by 2 years. When he was sitting, he was working on new developments, being behind barbed wire. In 1944, Beria sent a letter to Stalin, in which he asked to urgently release the designer. And already in September 1945 he was sent to Germany so that Korolev would gain experience and engineers. Two years later he returned and began very quickly to design rockets in the USSR, thereby increasing combat power countries.

And ten years later, in 1957, the first rocket called R-7 was launched, which launched the first satellite of planet Earth into space. And on April 12, 1961, a flight into space took place, under the leadership of Gagarin, and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, was also on board as part of the crew. And four years later the first spacewalk took place. The great designer did not participate in launches anymore, because he died in 1966. His body was cremated and, according to legend, part of the ashes were sent in a special container to the moon. But is this really still a mystery?

Date of birth: January 12, 1907
Date of death: January 14, 1966
Place of birth: Ukraine, Zhitomir

Korolev Sergey Pavlovich– designer of the Soviet period, Korolev S.P.- stood at the origins of theoretical and practical shipbuilding. Space technology, missile weapons - in these areas he was undoubtedly the first figure of his time.

Sergei was born on January 12, 1907 in Zhitomir in a bourgeois family. His father, Pavel Yakovlevich, taught Russian literature to children. Mother Maria Moskalenko, according to the traditions of that time, ran the household.

At the age of 8, Sergei begins his studies at the Kyiv gymnasium. In 1917 he was transferred to the Odessa gymnasium. Due to the closure of the gymnasium, the boy has to transfer to a labor school. Then he leaves school completely and begins studying at home under the guidance of his stepfather and mother. His stepfather's engineering education greatly helped Korolev.

A fateful meeting with aviators takes place in 1921. Sergei begins to communicate with representatives of the Odessa hydraulic squad and understands that aircraft manufacturing will become his life’s work.

Very at a young age– 17 years old – he was able to justify his own project of a motorless aircraft before a special commission.

6 years later, Sergei is already a student at the Polytechnic Institute in Kyiv. The young man literally grasps the exact disciplines on the fly and two years later he continues his studies in the capital. Moscow higher military school added another gifted student.
In 1931, having collaborated with F. Zander, Sergei created a special group dedicated to the study of jet propulsion. In practice, young scientists created and tested their models.

In 1933, the young specialist became deputy head of the Jet Research Institute. He is in charge of the missile department. The department's goal is to test all types of weapons-related missiles.

In June 1938, the scientist was charged seriously. He was arrested for sabotage. Korolev's interrogations were carried out with particular cruelty. The court sentence imposed 10 years of labor camps in Kolyma. The inventor spent a year in prison, since the USSR needed to build up military power and the government desperately needed designers and scientists.

In connection with this, many scientists were collected into specially organized design bureaus for forced work. Korolev was no exception.

He began his work under the patronage of Tupolev in Moscow. He was then transferred to Kazan, where he became the chief in the field of rocket launcher design.

In 1944, the scientist received his freedom and began work on rockets designed to fly along a ballistic trajectory. The first creation was the R-1, but it was not its own design, but was made according to the drawings of the German V-2.

Subsequently, work begins on rockets strategic purpose. In the post-war years, in 1957, missiles designed to fly along a ballistic trajectory for water and land were demonstrated for the first time.

At the same time, research is being carried out in astronautics. The launch of an artificial Earth satellite, which was launched into Earth orbit for the first time, could not have happened without Korolev. The development of astronautics is proceeding by leaps and bounds and two years later three aircraft are already visiting the Moon.

Despite the successes in peaceful space exploration, Korolev and his colleagues do not give up their work war machine THE USSR. The R-7 rocket is his brainchild. This missile could reach another continent and hit a target there.

But the peak of the career of a designer and scientist was probably the first manned flight into space. It was Korolev who was both the ideological inspirer and the executor of this gigantic project. Following the flight of Yu. Gagarin, Vostok-2 and Soyuz went into orbit. Began preparatory work for the design and assembly of a heavy interplanetary spacecraft.

Korolev did not have time to complete all these projects. During intestinal surgery, his heart stopped permanently. This happened on January 14, 1966.

Achievements of Sergei Korolev:

He was the first scientist in Soviet Russia who was engaged in theory and practice in almost all areas of rocket technology for peaceful and military purposes.
Before him, no one had done so much in the field of manned spacecraft designed to be launched into space.
During the beginning of the “arms race,” he stood at the origins of the USSR’s nuclear defense.
The most eminent and fruitful scientist in theoretical and practical astronautics.
The scientist’s merits were awarded the Lenin Prize, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor twice, and the title of Academician of Sciences.

Dates from the biography of Sergei Korolev:

January 12, 1907 born in Zhitomir.
1915 began his studies at the Kyiv gymnasium
1917 transferred to the Odessa gymnasium
1924 began his studies at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute.
1926 transferred to Moscow VTU.
1931 initiator of the creation of GIRD.
The 1933 rocket launch confirmed the correctness of all the theoretical calculations of the group of scientists. Experimental work has begun on the creation of combat missile weapons
1938 suddenly arrested. The punishment was severe - the designer had to spend 10 years in a camp.
1939 sent to a labor camp in Siberia.
1940 forced to work in specially organized design bureaus.
1944 released without preconditions. Started working on missiles flying along a ballistic trajectory.
1957 created a rocket flying along a ballistic trajectory. The Earth satellite, controlled from the control center, was sent into flight.
1961 Vostok-1 was sent into orbit.
January 14, 1966 - Sergei Pavlovich’s heart stopped during intestinal surgery.

Interesting facts of Sergei Korolev:

To get the drawings and calculations for the V-2, he was sent to England. The spy project failed because the artillery captain allegedly had no military decorations.
While studying at school, he showed absolutely no talent. Didn't shine in any of the subjects.
A story well known among cosmonauts says that Gagarin and Komarov insisted on sending the scientist’s ashes to the Moon.