The Soviet Union developed intercontinental ballistic missiles to carry nuclear weapons as a counter measure to United States bomber planes in the 1950s. The Tsiolkovsky-influenced Sergey Korolev became the chief rocket designer, and derivatives of his R-7 Semyorka missiles were used to launch the world's first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957.
The Soviet Union developed intercontinental ballistic missiles to carry nuclear weapons as a counter measure to United States bomber planes in the 1950s. The Tsiolkovsky-influenced Sergey Korolev became the chief rocket designer and derivatives of his R-7 Semyorka missiles were used to launch the world's first artifi,cial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957.