Editing Soviet space program (section)

===Early Russian-Soviet efforts===
[[File:GIRD.jpg|thumb|Members of the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD). 1931. Left to right: standing I.P. Fortikov, Yu A Pobedonostsev, Zabotin; sitting: A. Levitsky, Nadezhda Sumarokova, [[Sergei Korolev]], [[Boris Cheranovsky]], [[Friedrich Zander]] ]]
{{further|Soviet rocketry}}
The theory of [[space exploration]] had a solid basis in the [[Russian Empire]] before the [[First World War]] with the writings of the Russian and Soviet rocket scientist [[Konstantin Tsiolkovsky]] (1857–1935), who published pioneering papers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on [[Astronautics|astronautic theory]], including calculating the [[Rocket equation]] and in 1929 introduced the concept of the [[multistaged rocket]].{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Baker|Zak|2013|p=3}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Brochures |url=https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/NASM.2000.0015.pdf |website=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum |access-date=21 May 2022}}</ref> Additional astronautic and [[spaceflight]] theory was also provided by the Ukrainian and Soviet engineer and mathematician [[Yuri Kondratyuk]] who developed the first known [[lunar orbit rendezvous]] (LOR), a key concept for landing and return spaceflight from Earth to the [[Moon]].<ref>
{{Cite book
|last = Wilford
|first = John
|author-link = John Noble Wilford
|title = We Reach the Moon; the New York Times Story of Man's Greatest Adventure
|publisher = Bantam Paperbacks
|location = New York
|year = 1969
|page = 167
|id = {{Listed Invalid ISBN|0-373-06369-0}} }}
</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Russian Planetary Exploration: History, Development, Legacy and Prospects|first=Brian|last=Harvey|year=2007|publisher=Springer}}</ref> The LOR was later used for the plotting of the first actual [[Apollo 11|human spaceflight to the Moon]]. Many other aspects of spaceflight and [[space exploration]] are covered in his works.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=2}} Both theoretical and practical aspects of spaceflight was also provided by the Latvian pioneer of [[rocket]]ry and [[spaceflight]] [[Friedrich Zander]],{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=3}} including suggesting in a 1925 paper that a spacecraft traveling between two planets could be accelerated at the beginning of its trajectory and decelerated at the end of its trajectory by using the gravity of the two planets' moons – a method known as [[gravity assist]].<ref>Zander's 1925 paper, [https://archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19650001039 “Problems of flight by jet propulsion: interplanetary flights,”] was translated by NASA. See NASA Technical Translation F-147 (1964); specifically, Section 7: Flight Around a Planet's Satellite for Accelerating or Decelerating Spaceship, pp. 290–292.</ref>

====Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL)====
{{main|Gas Dynamics Laboratory}}
The first Soviet development of rockets was in 1921, when the Soviet military sanctioned the commencement of a small research laboratory to explore [[Solid-fuel rocket|solid fuel rockets]], led by [[Nikolai Tikhomirov (chemical engineer)|Nikolai Tikhomirov]], a chemical engineer, and supported by [[Vladimir Artemyev]], a Soviet engineer.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=6}}{{sfn|Chertok|2005|p=164 Vol 1}}  Tikhomirov had commenced studying solid and [[Liquid-fueled rocket]]s in 1894, and in 1915, he lodged a patent for "self-propelled aerial and water-surface mines."<ref name="RSB_GDL" /> In 1928 the laboratory was renamed the [[Gas Dynamics Laboratory]] (GDL).<ref name="W&WRRP">{{cite web |title=Russian Rocket Projectiles – WWII |url=https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2018/11/19/russian-rocket-projectiles-wwii/ |website=Weapons and Warfare |date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> The First test-firing of a solid fuel rocket was carried out in March 1928, which flew for about 1,300 meters<ref name="RSB_GDL">{{cite web |last1=Zak |first1=Anatoly |title=Gas Dynamics Laboratory |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/gdl.html |website=Russian Space Web |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>  Further developments in the early 1930s were led by [[Georgy Langemak]].{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=17}} and 1932 in-air test firings of [[RS-82 (rocket family)|RS-82]] unguided rockets from an [[Tupolev I-4]] aircraft armed with six launchers successfully took place.{{sfn|Chertok|2005|p=165 Vol 1}}

====Sergey Korolev====
{{main|Sergey Korolev}}
A key contributor to early soviet efforts came from a young Russian aircraft engineer [[Sergey Korolev]], who would later become the de facto head of the Soviet space programme.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=4}} 
In 1926, as an advanced student, Korolev was mentored by the famous Soviet aircraft designer [[Andrey Tupolev]], who was a professor at his University.<ref name="Eng060121">{{cite web |title=Late great engineers: Sergei Korolev – designated designer |url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/in-depth/late-great-engineers-sergei-korolev-designated-designer |website=The Engineer |date=June 2021 |access-date=22 May 2022}}</ref> In 1930, while working as a lead engineer on the [[Tupolev TB-3]] heavy bomber he became interested in the possibilities of liquid-fueled rocket engines to propel airplanes. This led to contact with Zander, and sparked his interest in space exploration and rocketry.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=4}}

====Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD)====
[[File:Ракета 09 и 10.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Rocket 09 (left) and 10 (GIRD-09 and GIRD-X). Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology; St. Petersburg.]]
{{main|Group for the Study of Reactive Motion}}
Practical aspects built on early experiments carried out by members of the 'Group for the Study of Reactive Motion' (better known by its Russian acronym "[[GIRD]]") in the 1930s, where Zander, Korolev and other pioneers such as the Russian engineers [[Mikhail Tikhonravov]], [[Leonid Dushkin]], [[Vladimir Vetchinkin]] and Yuriy Pobedonostsev worked together.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|pp=4–5}}{{sfn|Baker|Zak|2013|p=6}}{{sfn|Chertok|2005|p=166 Vol 1}} On August 18, 1933, the Leningrad branch of GIRD, led by Tikhonravov,{{sfn|Baker|Zak|2013|p=6}} launched the first [[Hybrid-propellant rocket|hybrid propellant rocket]], the [[Group for the Study of Reactive Motion#GIRD-9|GIRD-09]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Okninski |first1=Adam |title=Hybrid rocket propulsion technology for space transportation revisited – propellant solutions and challenges |journal=FirePhysChem |date=December 2021 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=260–271 |doi=10.1016/j.fpc.2021.11.015 |s2cid=244899773 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021FPhCh...1..260O }}</ref> and on November 25, 1933, the Soviet's first liquid-fueled rocket [[GIRD-X]].<ref>{{cite web |title=GIRD (Gruppa Isutcheniya Reaktivnovo Dvisheniya) |url=http://weebau.com/rock_rus/gird.htm |website=WEEBAU |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref>

====Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII)====
{{main|Reactive Scientific Research Institute}}
In 1933 GIRD was merged with GDL<ref name="RSB_GDL" /> by the Soviet government to form the [[Reactive Scientific Research Institute]] (RNII),{{sfn|Baker|Zak|2013|p=6}} which brought together the best of the Soviet rocket talent, including Korolev, Langemak, [[Ivan Kleymyonov]] and former GDL engine designer [[Valentin Glushko]].{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Baker|Zak|2013|p=9}} Early success of RNII included the conception in 1936 and first flight in 1941 of the [[Korolyov RP-318|RP-318]] the Soviets first [[Korolyov RP-318|rocket-powered aircraft]] and the [[RS-82 (rocket family)|RS-82 and RS-132 missiles]] entered service by 1937,{{sfn|Chertok|2005|p=167 vol 1}} which became the basis for development in 1938 and serial production from 1940 to 1941 of the [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha multiple rocket launcher]], another advance in the reactive propulsion field.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pobedonostsev |first1=Yuri A. |title=On the History of the Development of Solid-Propellant Rockets in the Soviet Union |journal=NASA Conference Publication |date=1977 |pages=59–63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruQqAAAAIAAJ |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Technical Information Office |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Greatest World War II Weapons : The Fearsome Katyusha Rocket Launcher |url=https://defencyclopedia.com/2016/02/20/greatest-world-war-ii-weapons-the-fearsome-katyusha-rocket-launcher/ |website=Defencyclopidea |date=February 20, 2016 |access-date=20 May 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=9}} RNII's research and development were very important for later achievements of the Soviet rocket and space programs.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|p=9}}{{sfn|Chertok|2005|p=164 Vol 1}}

During the 1930s, Soviet rocket technology was comparable to Germany's,{{sfn|Chertok|2005|pp=167–168 Vol 1}} but [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Great Purge]] severely damaged its progress. In November 1937, Kleymyonov and Langemak were arrested and later executed, Glushko and many other leading engineers were imprisoned in the [[Gulag]].{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|pp=10–11}} Korolev was arrested in June 1938 and sent to a [[Sevvostlag|forced labour camp in Kolyma]] in June 1939. However, due to intervention by Tupolev, he was relocated to a [[Sharashka|prison for scientists and engineers]] in September 1940.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2000|pp=11–14}}