posted 09-02-2026 01:02 PM            

Founded in 1946 as OKB-1 under Sergei Korolev, the group was responsible for pioneering achievements in the Soviet and Russian space programs, including the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 and the first human spaceflight, Vostok 1. Over subsequent decades it developed the Soyuz spacecraft, the Progress cargo vehicle, the Energia heavy-lift launch system, and modules for the Salyut, Mir, and the International Space Station (ISS).