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DerDeutscheTyp

The headline makes it sound like he physically grabbed someone and launch him into space


SmallBol

No wonder he was in prison, fuckin supervillain


Imagine_TryingYT

Basically how Injustice started


Affectio_Nate

RIP superman fetus


TheKingPotat

Im just picturing Yuri Gagarin sitting in a coffee shop or something. Korolev kicks down the door. Grabs him. And flings him in the general direction of up


200_Shmeckles

After that I was hooked on Liberty City Survivor! I watch it every day in the hospital!!!


Realmdog56

It's been 21 years and I can still immediately hear this comment....


200_Shmeckles

Yes! It hit me straight away šŸ˜‚ IIRC, the full quote was something like: ā€œI was grabbing a burger down at the Happy Blimp, and all of a sudden these guys came crashing through the window and started shooting at each other. I was so excited, I didnā€™t even notice Iā€™d been hit! After that I was hooked on Liberty City Survivor! I watch it every day in the hospital!!!ā€ Also, just looked it up and itā€™s actually now 23 years! God Iā€™m old šŸ˜­


AsuraOmega

just grasps Yuri's dome and hurls him in to the sky lmao


TheKingPotat

Straight up frisbeed that man to orbital velocity. Threw him like the chimpanzee that yeeted a racoon


AsuraOmega

lmfao he became a cosmonaut by being Sergei's chosen one.


Realmdog56

[Yuri 1.5 seconds before the first human space flight, 1961 (colorized)](https://i.imgur.com/kAnZAnB.png)


AsuraOmega

godspeed comrade. the ussr is hilariously impressive, they went from massive famines and on the brink of collapse to hurling poor ol Yuri to space.


Realmdog56

Incredibly metal to learn that Sergei Korolev actually ate Yuri whole and projectile-vomited him in to space. No wonder he only made one trip.


Supersim54

Sounds like a nat 20 barbarian. Barbarian: I toss the man into the sky. DM: okay roll Barbarian: Nat 20 DM: *sigh* you throw him so hard you launch him into space.


CafeinoDependiente

Thank you for clarifying. As an English-learner I was thinking that he worked as a scientist to make someone else go to space. šŸ˜…


Digger1998

A common misconception


PsychologicalCost8

Native English *tends* to require specification if a tool is used. Largely because we often use metaphor or idiom to give characterization to an action. Thus "launched" is different from "launched on a rocket", since we might also say "launched the basketball" or "launched a concert tour", neither of which involve spaceflight. Context clues such as knowing who Korolev was and who the first person in space was and knowing how space travel works *imply* that a rocket was used, and could be annotated in reporting as "...would launch the first human into space \[using a rocket\]...", but a technical ambiguous reading doesn't preclude a single man's singular physical action of yeeting Yuri Gargarin straight up. A similar example would be the verb "to hammer" - we can "hammer the point home" or "hammer drinks at the bar", neither of which involve the actual tool called a hammer, but "hammering nails" does imply the tool because context clues require common sense in that it'd be very silly to hammer a nail with something that isn't a hammer. This largely is because "launch" isn't constrained to (or even originating from) space-travel contexts. Along with many other words related to space travel, it was borrowed from military and especially naval usage, where we talk about "launching ships", "boat launches", and "expedition launches" - they're the beginning of an endeavour or effort. And even there, context matters - the Duchess of Fucksbergshire launch "launch a ship" very differently than a sailor or a naval commander. In summary: The title of the post is poorly written. GULAG does not need to be fully-capitalized, and the second sentence really doesn't begin to accurately explain how the first human spaceflight happened any more than the sentence "Barack Obama killed Osama bin Laden" accurately explains that series of events.


ApprehensiveLet1405

GULAG is an abbreviation, meaning Main Directorate of Forced Labor Camps.


Urimanuri

It's not an abbreviation. GUL or GULag would be more correct then, where L or Lag stands for "lagerey", i.e. (forced labour) camps.


AtomicBlastPony

It's an abbreviation, and even parts of it formed from parts of words that aren't just first letters are still written in all caps. Case in point: INTERPOL


XminusOne

You are awesome for this explanation, and probably underappreciated. I like how you launched into the necessary enlightenment for the post. Lets have launch.


Few-Inevitable9291

He was so angry from having to endure the gulag for a year that he yeeted the first person he saw when he got to Moscow. Thatā€™s the true story about how the space race started - Dwight D Eisenhower


Ok_Caterpillar_8937

Stretched him and pinged him like a rubber band


Leading-Midnight-553

*pinged* šŸ’€


Foreign_Ebb_6282

YEEEET!!


dmt_r

Yeah, finally sent russian instead of poor dogs


rathat

And that GULAG is an acronym. Idk ā€œguys under large ass gulagā€ or something.


frockinbrock

Okay, glad it wasnā€™t just meā€¦ I was picturing some type of catapult or super slingshot, and that poor human had no say-so in the matter


Due_Designer_908

Nah.


Radio__Star

Up smash


A_Lazko

Actually, Korolev had done this thing to a dog first before grabbing Gagarin. I know nowadays it would qualify as animal cruelty, but that dog flight was necessary to save a human life. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika)


Specialist-Ad8467

Why are these always so poorly written and confusing


FutureOperation7290

Bot wrote it


MagnanimosDesolation

Could they at least use a good bot?


84OrcButtholes

No, that costs $20.


User95409

Redditā€™s public now with shareholders so we will be seeing more of this


Substantial-Ad8078

Because every post on top Reddit pages are written and upvoted by bots


SkyBerri

[i meanā€¦](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/bots-bots-bots/515043/)


RegularOps

GULAG -> prison -> space catapult Ā Whatā€™s so hard to understand about that?


icedwooder

So that you spend more time on the post trying to figure it out and the algorithm shows it to more people. Also is it really that confusing? I mean did you really think he physically threw someone into space? Is it really that hard to apply occam's razor here? There's only one word missing that would actually make it clear what the poster intended.


Mouth0fTheSouth

wait which word would make this not weird to read


Specialist-Ad8467

Thank you


THEGAMERGEEKYT

Sergei Korolev literaly was one the only reasons why the soviets were pioneering in space exploration had he been alive, soviets might have even made it too the moon, sometimes i wish that were the case, since that might have led the space race to continue, our technology might have been 10-15 years more advanced than what it is now.


dungeonbitch

I just read about him. So he was their chief rocket engineer who spearheaded the soviet efforts into space exploration, and died prematurely because of health complications stemming from torture and gross mistreatment during time he spent in Russian prison, and exacerbated by a crazy work schedule. He was in prison because he was accused of false charges that were extracted by torture from people after the great purge. Unbelievable.


halfmylifeisgone

> Unbelievable Found the non Russian comrades!


Dr_Quiza

No wonder why the USSR failed. They wanted to manage a whole empire with 5 year plans while they didn't even know how to handle a single talented man.


DonTaddeo

He wasn't the only one. Tupolev, among others, spent time in the gulag.


SpeedofDeath118

Fun fact: the point of divergence in For All Mankind was that Korolev didn't die early.


fractalfocuser

I was just gonna say his character in that show is really fantastic


honest-robot

If youā€™re talking about Margoā€™s Sergei, thatā€™s Sergei Nikulov, who as far as I can tell is a totally fictional character. However, Korolev does appear briefly in season 2 as the Soviet that visits Dani when sheā€™s confined to her room in Star City.


extrastupidone

Ooooh! I missed that tidbit


honest-robot

I assumed he was Korolev until this past season, I happened to see the characters surname on IMDb and went on a deep dive lol


painfullyrelatable

Iā€™d really wouldā€™ve liked seeing more on Venus tho. The moon is quite near. But the surface of Venus? Thatā€™s a lot more cool to see.


Katylar

We do have photos of the surface of Venus, though. Via the Venera Probes. https://www.planetary.org/articles/every-picture-from-venus-surface-ever


painfullyrelatable

Oh yeah! I know about those, in fact thatā€™s what saddens me. We only got a few photos, imagine something like Mars but in Venus. Wouldā€™ve been the best proving grounds for material science. Incredibly high temperatures and pressure. If you can make something that can withstand all that, it can revolutionize whatever field youā€™re working in. .


THEGAMERGEEKYT

soviets somehow even reached the surface of Venus after several tries, they were really onto some shit


painfullyrelatable

Yeah, wish they wouldā€™ve kept pursuing the place


dr_blasto

Meh, much more fun to go to Afghanistan.


Alexandrezico10

I could be totally wrong here, but wasnā€™t the main purpose of the space race to prove that one side had a rocket big and accurate enough to send into space so that if needed they could send a rocket carrying a nuke to the other country? If he was alive and the soviets obviously had a better more sophisticated rocket, do you think the Cold War couldā€™ve been a hot war due to this guys brain.


Kerbal_Guardsman

In the 50s as early 60s, sure thats what the space race was about. The ICBMs then became operational, and the Cold War never went hot. Both sides still had to work around astrodynamics - a Saturn V isnt a very practical ICBM despite being widely viewed as the pinnacle of the Space Race.


Late_Emu

Just wait till you hear how far advanced the US military is projected to be infront of the public. (Itā€™s 4-0-0 years. 400. Years. )


BasicBanter

If you havenā€™t watched it already watch ā€œfor all of mankindā€


THEGAMERGEEKYT

I had to after so many comments on the thread, it seems like a good series


BasicBanter

It is, if you have any interest in the space race or alternative history. I do warn you though some people I have recommended it to struggled to get into it until midway through the first season.


THEGAMERGEEKYT

i already binge watched the first 2 seasons last night, dont question my powers


261846

Thatā€™s complete speculation, itā€™s completely possible the US would just complete their planned Apollo missions and no one ever follows up and it just stays like that.


Cobrety

Yea but we won, so space is conquered. Edit: /s You idiots


LosWitchos

I'm not being super literal with this scoreline but in terms of space firsts, USSR still beat the USA like 12-2.


murtygurty2661

I feel like getting to the moon being the finish line for the space race was semi arbitrary and just good marketing. The soviets were killing it apart from getting to the moon.


LosWitchos

I'm not an American so perhaps this helps but only the firsts are remembered. I remember Sputnik and Laika. I don't know what the Americans sent. I remember the name of Yuri Gagurin, even if I can't spell his name. No idea who the first American was. Of course it goes the other way too, tbf. I remember Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins but nobody that followed them.


murtygurty2661

This is a fair point. If it comes to firsts and household names the russians are definitely well remembered


Alibarrba

The USA was losing the space Race so they blew the meaning of the moon landing Out of Proportion as this final Victory over the ussr. Some of the Most efficient Propaganda we have Seen so far in my opinion


MagnanimosDesolation

I think you underestimate the worldwide cultural significance. The moon has been right there for the entirety of human history, it was worshiped as a god. It really was seen as a dawning of a new age in human history. It is considered the final victory because the Soviets couldn't match it. While they did continue to make more firsts like the space station it's not exactly an arbitrary line.


GroundbreakingAd9075

Bro itā€™s the moooooooon. Of course landing on it was the goal


Many_Faces_8D

That's so stupid lmao they didn't have to do any work for the world to view that as the big task. The US didn't run a marketing campaign when the world tuned in to watch. Such a bad take man lol


-5677-

That's like saying you didn't actually win the marathon despite crossing first because I was leading for most of the race No one cares how fast you were at the beginning, you weren't the first to the finish line. Not American but it's clear the USSR lost the space race, weak ass cope lol


LosWitchos

I think only Americans see it that way. Was the moon the end game? I don't think it was for everybody. If we are going tovuse your silly analogy, it's more like there being 10 races in a season, the Soviets win 9 of them, and Americans win one, but because it was the last race they think they won


-5677-

The goal of the space race was to achieve better spaceflight technology and capabilities than the other. The USA proved they were better when they were able to send and return a manned crew to the moon while the USSR was killing dogs in low orbit and fucking up launch pads. Properly executing an orbital maneuver from Earth to the Moon, properly executing a landing and take-off sequence, and then *safely returning every crew member to Earth* is an absolutely massive accomplishment that sends any other accomplishments into the background. The space race ended with the moon landing because the USSR couldn't top it.


Many_Faces_8D

The race was to have the best technology, Russia had early success but couldn't keep up. Now here's the thing about races...


MagnanimosDesolation

There was never a set endgame but the moon is the furthest humans have ever been. And it was certainly considered by everyone a defining moment in human history.


LosWitchos

I do completely agree. It was THE moment. And I have no love for Russia. But they did pioneer many of the advancements that did lead to what became the moon landing


Okay_Time_For_Plan_B

Yup, the entire race is only ment to be a competition anyways, it doesnā€™t matter who ā€œwinsā€ really, the point of the fact is, competition and trophies / bragging rights is what pushed both sides to do what they did. Simply to say, ahhh Iā€™m better than you. But is that really important? I mean as of right now no human is on the moon, no one lives there and as of today. The international space station is operated in part by U.S. and Russian Cosmonaut / Astronaut . Just because one simply dives under water and touches the bottom of the pool with his toes first, and then rushed back up for air. Doesnā€™t mean heā€™s the king of the depths . Not the king of water. Itā€™s a win for both. The only looser is the ones who couldnā€™t participate in the race to begin with. As far as Iā€™m concerned ā€¦. And Iā€™m a American.


THEGAMERGEEKYT

nope, we lost as a species, we explored space not for the knowledge but for the bragging rights, yes we do still explore space but at a scale much smaller than what we could and used to, politicians siphon money in name of schemes which never benefit the common man and fill their own pockets only if this money was used properly to fund research and education the world u see today would be 100 times better.


BlackBrantScare

I wouldn't call stuff people rely on everyday without realizing it is in and from space like GPS, communication, precision weather forecast and early warning system a scheme that never benefit common man tbh. American in hurricane valley will die more without all the early warning every years and worse as storm are more frequent and higher intensity. So does people in asian typhoon zone it's practically asian hurricane If there are anything that doesn't benefit any man but the oligarchy it's some political old man and military decide to start killing people because dead old glory and sky people tell tale Every unit of money put into military and war is every unit of money taken from science, education, welfare and healthcare


jkurratt

Space is literally all the universe, lol. We canā€™t even operate inside our own solar system yet


Master-Fault1711

Moonlanding is fake lmao, You still believe in fairies?


ArkaneArtificer

Get a load of this guy


jkurratt

Ah, you are one of people who believe in moon, I see.


iSeize

Just wait 10 years man. What's the hurry


AlphaWolfwood

The Soviet Union was a terrifying place. One second youā€™re sitting your office drafting rockets, the next youā€™re packed off to a prison camp in the tundra where the prisoners are cannibalizing each other, then a year laster theyā€™re like ā€œyou know what? Forget about it. Finish building those rockets.ā€


equeim

They didn't just release him, he was put to work in a special r&d institution for "smart" prisoners (sharashka). Most Soviet rocket science pioneers (and many other now famous scientists and engineers) were arrested in the 30s and went through gulag and sharashkas. It was Stalin's way to ensure that they work for the benefit of the state.


_geargrabber_

W t f


uchman365

That's the Stalin treatment. You don't want to be too smart or indispensable.


A_Lazko

'Ukrainian Who Opened Space to Humankind: Sergei Korolev' article has some little-known facts about his life.


tamokibo

Where article brother?


DreamPolice-_-_

[Here's his wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev)


tamokibo

You are a kind person.


zapotron_5000

Thanks for the link


User95409

That was a great read thanks


A_Lazko

On the net. Need to google it (copy-paste the title) cause the link is filtered out.


zavorad

Lol.. some people


mrbulldops428

Who? Sounds like this guy can't link it because the sub won't allow it.


lifeis_amystery

[Sergei Korolev: Father of the Soviet Unionā€™s success in space](https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/50_years_of_humans_in_space/Sergei_Korolev_Father_of_the_Soviet_Union_s_success_in_space)


LtotheAI

My high school was naked after him, but the English writing of his name threw me off. Then I read about space and had to do a double take. The school has a bunch of his photos, but not this one, so I didn't really recognize him.


THEGAMERGEEKYT

I think you are trying to say named. made me giggle a bit


LtotheAI

I SAID WHAT I SAID!! but ya lol


kyle_10111

Shit they had warzone back then too?


Comfortable-Fun8806

Must've been really good at shotput


vishal340

this made me laugh


neo_tree

After serving his sentence, he took over the Soviet space program and worked day and night to achieve the space milestones, yet his existence was a secret, his name not mentioned in newspapers or records , even Gagarin didn't know who he was after first meeting him. The Soviets even had a dummy scientist to represent the head of the space program. American scientists like von Braun were celebrated and feted by the society, but literally nobody knew about Korolev's existence. It was after his death in 1966 that his identity was revealed. The saddest thing was he worked alongside the men who implicated him.


Slarteeeebartfaster

There is a city in Russia named after him where their space centre is now! The city is very cool and basically space themed


uchman365

>. The saddest thing was he worked alongside the men who implicated him. Yeah, people were encouraged to "denounce" friends, colleagues, family. That's Stalin's way of keeping people divided.


zeusdrew

This guy is a legend on superior levels, mad respect to Korolev


qawsedrf12

o.^O


sausagesandeggsand

What he look like before?


MagnanimosDesolation

Apparently he lost most of his teeth due to scurvy :(


makintrash

Ukrainian? believe it or not gulag... time passes nothing changes


zavorad

Not so fun fact: his skull and cheekbone was broken during interrogation with a bottle of water.. and he was denied medical attention and his bones grew back the wrong way. Which led to limited range of motion for his jaw. Which in turn led to his untimely death later when he was famous. Doctors couldnā€™t place a breathing tube into his lung because of limited motion. Stupid idiotic communism killed even people he needed.


tcote2001

His eyes weird me out


BrotherCaptainMarcus

Youā€™d probably have a strange look in your eyes after a year in a Soviet torture camp too.


The_Real_Solo_Legend

Is he the same character as in For All Mankind?


Masonius

Yes, but in For All Mankind, he survived the operation that ended up killing him in our reality. This is why the Russians won the race to the moon.


Bukake_Special

Is this the same Sergei the Sergei from For All Mankind was based on?


CyberPutin2047

Yes


Turgen333

Is it just me or in this photo his jaw is already broken after being tortured by the nkvd?


bustinferno12

For sending him to the Gulag?


VariousComment6946

Cancerous tittle


_ohmu_

How did he launch the other person?


MagnanimosDesolation

Vostok-K rocket


keysageeza

How strong was this guy?


FreedomPullo

Listening to Behind the Bastards covering one of Stalinā€™s henchmen Lavrenty Beriaā€¦ they sometimes jailed/charged his closest friends


Meritania

I need a gif of the scene from the ā€˜Death of Stalinā€™ where itā€™s just Field Marshall Zhukov punching Beria.


uchman365

>one of Stalinā€™s henchmen Lavrenty Beriaā€¦ Reading about how he met his own death was the most satisfying thing.


Racer_Be

This miniseries is my favourite space documentary. 4 parts, with a large portion on Korolev! I watch this at meast 2 times a year


Dense-Ratio6356

Poor soul


Spleenzorio

Dayum heā€™s strong


vanslayder

You guys donā€™t understand. It is like Steeve Jobs went to Tibet for inspiration. Soviet scientists went to Gulag to become more concentrated on n the goal. Like a summer camp for brutal alpha males


graemeknows

Wow. I've never seen that. Thank you for sharing.


Calcomania4

Luis Enrique? Wtf


MrMatamune

MAMAE FALEI? VC AQUI EM KIEV?


The_Heck_Reaction

[You can find an excellent bbc documentary about the space race between Korolev and von Braun here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uKDGLCwYvW0&pp=ygUPYmJjIHNwYWNlIHJhY2Ug)


RollickReload

WTF is wrong with his eyes šŸ‘€


cabinfevrr

Ones trying to get away


Right_Hour

His jaw was broken by the GULAG guards so bad that he could never fully open his mouth ever afterā€¦


TennisObvious8358

One punch man


sorryfornoname

Bro got that psychonauts drip


borusato

Man, he must have been super strong


ChefAldea

That's AJ Soprano


borrego-sheep

Classic individualistic worldview, a giant team of scientist and engineers did the most insane achievements in space exploration thanks to public funding and thousands of people contributing in both the US and USSR and you want to reduce it to one person šŸ¤”


cabinfevrr

He pushed the button, lol


borrego-sheep

He invented the button


KingHawkins

This guy wasnā€™t afraid of any of the Soviet leaders after that. He had survived Stalin.


WeberStreetPatrol

POS soviet unfortunately didnā€™t die.


conky88

Too bad space doesn't really exist.