Dmitrii Kozlov

Dmitry Ilyich Kozlov (1 October 1919, Tikhoretsk – 7 March 2009, Samara) was a Russian aerospace engineer who founded the Progress Rocket Space Center, the developer and manufacturer of the Soyuz family of rockets.

Kozlov fought the Nazis in the Second World War, losing his left arm. In the 1950s he worked under Sergey Korolyov and was in charge of designing the R-7 missile, the design of which would become the basis of the Soyuz rocket. As a leading designer of intercontinental ballistic missiles Kozlov was awarded a Lenin Prize (1957), two USSR State Prizes (1976, 1983), a Russian Federation State Prize (1994) and was named a Hero of Socialist Labour on two occasions (1961, 1979). In 1996, he was the General Designer of the Progress program. He retired in 2003.

Awards and accolades Four Orders of Lenin (April 20, 1956, July 29, 1960, June 17, 1961, and July 26, 1979) Orders of the October Revolution (April 26, 1971) Patriotic War of the 1st Degree (March 11, 1985) Red Star (April 7, 1944) Russian Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd Degree (November 11, 1994) Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1996) Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1957) Two USSR State Prizes (1976, 1983) State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of Science and Technology (1994) Honored Worker of Industry of the USSR (1989) Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation (1992) A bronze bust of Kozlov was installed in the city of Tikhoretsk In Samara, a memorial plaque was installed on the house that he lived.