Chertok's sixty-year-long career and the many successes and failures of the Soviet space program constitute the core of his memoirs, Rockets and People. Twenty-seven years later, he became deputy to the founding figure of the Soviet space program, the mysterious 'Chief Designer' Sergey Korolev. Chertok began his career as an electrician in 1930 at an aviation factory near Moscow. In this Volume 1, Chertok describes his early years as an engineer and ends with the mission to Germany after the end of World War II when the Soviets captured Nazi missile technology and expertise. The memoirs of Academician Boris Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. In this Volume 1, Chertok describes his early years as a Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space. Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space.

Russian space pioneer