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One of the three most important designers of liquid-propellant rockets in the
Soviet Union, the other two being Sergei Korolev
and Vladimir Chelomei. Yangel began his career
in the aviation industry and joined Korolev’s OKB-1 enterprise almost by chance.
As Korolev’s associate, he set up a rocket propulsion center in Dniproperovsk
in the Ukraine which later formed the basis of his own OKB-586 bureau. At first,
Yangel’s facility served to mass-produce and further develop intercontinental
ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that Korolev originated. However, Yangel quickly became
a major competitor, not only as a developer of ICBMs, such as the R-12, R-14,
and R-36 (see "R" series of Russian missiles)
but also of several series of space launch vehicles, including the Zenit,
Cosmos, and Tsyklon.
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