Table of Contents

Preface ix

A Note about Russian Names xvi

Abbreviations xvii

Prologue The Anonymous Chief Designer 1

Chapter

1 Kibalchich to Korolev 8

2 Growing Up in Ukraine: Broken Family, Bolsheviks, Gliders 16

3 To Moscow: Tupolev, Tukhachevsky, First Rockets 29

4 The Gulag and Sharaga Years 49

5 The German V-2: Bedrock Technology 64

6 The World's First ICBM: Aimed at the USA 91

7 Sputnik: No Big Deal to Khrushchev-At First 121

8 Unmanned Firsts: Hitting the Moon and Venus 139

9 Gagarin First, Shepard an Anti-climactic Second 159

10 Voskhod: A "Circus Act" 180

11 Spy Sats and Com Sats 190

12 The Organization: Korolev Up and Down 201

13 The Technology: Simple but Reliable 219

14 The Party, the Paranoia 230

15 Racing Apollo: The Odds Were Enormous 246

16 The End of Anonymity: Burial in the Kremlin Wall 276

17 After Korolev: Demise of the Circumlunar and Lunar Landing Missions 286

18 Ironic Epilogue 313

Appendix A Chronology of the Moon Race, 1957-1974 324

Notes 340

Bibliography 372

Index 377

About the Author

JAMES HARFORD, Executive Director Emeritus of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington, D.C., has been involved in aerospace for over 40 years, and was a Verville Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum. Mr. Harford lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reviews

"In this exceptional book, James Harford pieces together a most compelling and well-written tale . . . must reading."-Space News

"A fascinating and perceptive history of the Russian space program.... Avid space enthusiasts will find this story a necessary addition to their knowledge of space exploration."-Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., former Director of Flight Operations, NASA

"His erudite and meticulously researched charting of the life and times of Korolev provides unique insights. . . . This is a fascinating book . . . for the space expert and enthusiast alike. Great stuff."-New Scientist