Leonid Voskresensky

Leonid Alexandrovich Voskresensky (; 14 June 1913 – 14 December 1965) was a Soviet engineer in the Soviet space program, and long-time associate of Chief Designer Sergei Korolev. He served as launch director for Sputnik and for the first crewed space flight, Vostok 1.

Voskresensky continued to head several rocket test programs until 1953, when he was appointed as a Deputy Chief Designer of the primary Soviet rocket design bureau, OKB-1, under Sergei Korolev. During his tenure at OKB-1, the bureau achieved several significant achievements in rocketry and space flight, such as the engine used for the first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7 Semyorka, the first spacecraft in orbit, Sputnik, and the first crewed orbital space flight, Vostok 1.

In 1963, health issues led Voskresensky to become an instructor at the Moscow Aviation Institute. He also continued to serve as a consultant with OKB-1, as "acting head of department of scientific tests."

Leonid Voskresensky died 14 December 1965. At his funeral, his eulogy was delivered by Sergei Korolev. He was buried with honors in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery. Due to the secrecy surrounding the Soviet space program at the time, he was only identified in the press as "a scholar in the field of the elaboration and testing models of new machinery." Anecdotes of his adventures are featured in several histories of the space race.

In Rockets and People, scientist and historian Boris Chertok recounted how Voskresensky reacted when a missile being tested developed a leak of a supposedly radioactive substance. As others rushed away, he calmly walked up to the rocket and climbed the gantry. He ran his finger through the liquid, and in full view of the launch crew, put his finger on his tongue to demonstrate that the substance was harmless. He then called on everyone to return to work.

Author Matthew Brzezinski documented an unusual technique that Voskresensky developed for fixing some issues with the R-9 missile:

Awards and honors Hero of Socialist Labor (1958) for Sputnik-1. Two Orders of Lenin (1958, 1961) for Sputnik-1 and Vostok-1. Order of the Red Star (1945). The International Astronomical Union named the lunar crater Voskresenskiy after him in 1970.