Editing Sergei Korolev (section)

===The Moon===
{{Main|Soviet Moonshot}}
Even before the ''Sputnik 1'' launch, Korolev was interested in getting to the Moon. He came up with the notion to modify the R-7 missile in order to carry a package to the Moon. However, it was not until 1958 that this idea was approved, after Korolev wrote a letter explaining that his current technology would make it possible to get to the Moon.{{sfn|Harford|1997}} A modified version of the R-7 launch vehicle was used with a new upper stage. The engine for this final stage was the first designed to be fired in outer space. ''Mechta'' is the Russian word meaning "dream", and this is the name Korolev called his moon ships. Officially, the Soviet Union called them [[Luna programme|Lunas]].{{sfn|Harford|1997}} The first three lunar probes launched in 1958 all failed in part because of political pressure forcing the launches to be rushed with an inadequate budget to test and develop the hardware properly before they were ready to fly. Korolev thought political infighting in Moscow was responsible for the lack of sufficient funding for the program, although the US space program at this early phase also had a scarcely enviable launch record. Once, when pressured to beat the US to a working lunar probe, Korolev allegedly exclaimed: "Do you think that only American rockets explode!?"{{sfn|Harford|1997}} The [[Luna 1]] mission on 2 January 1959 was intended to impact the surface, but missed by about {{convert|6000|km}}. Nevertheless, this probe became the first to reach escape velocity and the first to go near the Moon, as well as becoming the first man-made object to orbit the Sun.{{sfn|Harford|1997}} A subsequent attempt (''[[Luna E-1A No.1]]'') failed at launch, and then ''[[Luna 2]]'' successfully impacted the surface on 14 September 1959, giving the Soviets another first. This was followed just one month later by an even greater success with ''[[Luna 3]]''. It was launched only two years after Sputnik 1, and on 7 October 1959 was the first spacecraft to photograph the [[Far side (Moon)|far side of the Moon]], which was something the people of Earth had never seen beforehand.{{sfn|Harford|1997}}

The Luna missions were intended to make a successful soft landing on the Moon, but Korolev was unable to see a success. ''[[Luna 4]]'' and ''[[Luna 6]]'' both missed, ''[[Luna 5]]'', ''[[Luna 7]]'', and ''[[Luna 8]]'' all crashed on the Moon. It was not until after Korolev's death that the Soviet Union successfully achieved a soft landing on the Moon with ''[[Luna 9]]''.{{sfn|Harford|1997}}

Towards the latter part of Korolev's life, he had been working on projects for reaching the planets [[Mars]] and [[Venus]], and even had spacecraft ready to reach both. The United States was also working towards reaching these planets, so it was a race to see who would be successful. Korolev's two initial Mars probes suffered from engine failures, and the five probes the Soviet Union launched in hopes of reaching Venus all failed between 1961 and 1962, Korolev himself supervised the launches of all probes.{{sfn|Harford|1997}}

On 1 November 1962, the Soviet Union successfully launched ''[[Mars 1]]'' and although communications failed, was the first to complete a [[Flyby (spaceflight)|flyby]] of Mars. Later, the Soviet Union launched ''[[Venera 3]]'', which was the first impact of Venus. It was not until after Korolev's death that the Soviet Union impacted Mars.{{sfn|Harford|1997}}

Korolev's group was also working on ambitious programs for missions to Mars and Venus, putting a man in orbit, launching communication, spy and weather satellites, and making a soft-landing on the Moon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/k/korolevbureau.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820170320/http://www.astronautix.com/k/korolevbureau.html|archive-date=20 August 2016|title=Korolev bureau|access-date=2021-10-02}}</ref> A radio communication center needed to be built in the [[Crimea]], near [[Simferopol]] and near [[Pluton (complex)|Yevpatoria]] to control the spacecraft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/kik_nip16.html|title=Crimean space connection|access-date=2021-10-02}}</ref> Many of these projects were not realized in his lifetime, and none of the planetary probes performed a completely successful mission until after his death.