Korolev's right hand who led the R-7 through design, mass production, and every successive variant
The 24-year-old lieutenant who lost his left arm in the fighting north of Vyborg in July 1944 was, thirteen years later, the lead designer of the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7.
Appointed by Korolev as lead designer of the R-7, he directed the design of the 'Semyorka' and was then dispatched to Kuibyshev (Samara) to organize serial production of the R-7 family at the aviation plant there. In 1974 he founded the Central Specialized Design Bureau (TsSKB), spun off from OKB-1, as its first head and general designer, developing the Vostok, Molniya, and Soyuz launchers alongside reconnaissance and scientific satellite families. Across design, mass production, and successive variants of the R-7, his life's work built the spine of space transport from Sputnik to the Soyuz rockets of today.
Career Timeline
- 1946–1951Engineer-constructor, NII-88 → OKB-1
- 1951–1958Lead designer, OKB-1: R-5 and R-7 ICBM
- 1958–1961Deputy chief designer, OKB-1; led R-7 serial production at Plant No. 1, Kuibyshev
- 1961–1966Deputy chief designer, OKB-1; head & chief designer, Branch No. 3
- 1966–1974First deputy chief designer, TsKBEM; head & chief designer, Kuibyshev branch
- 1974–1983Founding head & chief designer, TsSKB
- 1983–1996Head & general designer, TsSKB
- 1996–2003General director & general designer, TsSKB-Progress