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In both Russia and the United States the space race was a military project in the beginning. In the Soviet union it was headed by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. In the 30s he led an amateur rocketry organization. In the 40s and early 50s he was forced to work in Stalin's labor camps.
After Stalin's death he was allowed to focus on his rocket project again. On May 20, 1954, his design bureau got an order from the government to develop the first Russian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Some plans already existed for the so-called R-7. It was supposed to be an offensive weapon against the United States that could be launched from Russian territory. Six days later he handed over a paper that was written by his friend M. Tikhonravov. It was titled "Report on an Artificial Satellite of the Earth". It stated that the R-7 missile could be used to launch satellites into space. Yet, the R-7 remained a military project. The military officials intended it to be a weapon and were reluctant to admit missile launches with it.
About a year afterwards the first Soviet Organization devoted to space flight was born. In August 1955 Korolev presented a new paper to a Soviet governmental commission. The R-7 should be used to lift a 1500kg object into space. Based on the report he received permission to use the rocket as a satellite launcher. Many Soviet military leaders were against the project because they feared that it might interfere with the ballistic missile development. Korolev was able to convince the Soviet leader Khrushchev of the contrary. The program could finally be started.
In the first days the program was processing slowly. It was formally approved on January 30, 1966, months after the plans were turned in. Subcontractors were not making required deliveries. Worst of all the R-7 did not have enough thrust to lift the heavy satellite. Its weight had to be reduced form 1500kg to 100kg.
The program was nearing completion in August 1957 when the first Russian ICBM, the R-7 was successfully tested. The rocket was now being modified for the world's first satellite launch. It had two stages and a length of 29 meters. On October 4, 1957 the rocket was ready for launch. Six minutes after lift-off Sputnik was released. Sputnik was designed to determine the density of Earth's upper atmosphere. However, it only transmitted signals for a short time. A month later, a second Sputnik was launched. It brought the first living being into space, the dog Laika. For about a week medical data was collected. Afterwards the dog had to be put to sleep since a safe reentry was not possible at that time. The last Sputnik that was shot into space was the one that was intended to go up first. It was launched on May 15, 1958. For two years it performed experiments on the Earth's magnetic field and ionosphere.
The launch of Sputnik was a shock to the western world since there were no previous announcements. The Russians seemed to be ahead of the Russians. In order to close this gap the National Aeronautics and Space Organization (NASA) was created on October 1, 1958.
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