Sergei Korolev and Vladimir Chelomey rarely talked or got along with each other. Putting most of the blame for his imprisonment in the Kolyma gulag. Chelomey also did not like Korolev, with Chelomey exposing similar feelings of rivalry between the two with widely distinct engineering philosophies in aerospace. It is largely a shame then considering both men are by and large, scientific and engineering geniuses whom their personal slights and unwillingness to work together hinder both the project’s well-being and their personal health, constantly attempting to outdo the other for the sake of funding and attention by the Politburo.

Thus on January 1961, both Korolev and Chelomey were summoned to a meeting with none other than General Secretary Khrushchev. At a lavish dinner table in Moscow, both men were seated opposing each other with Khrushchev seated in the middle facing both. The lack of invitees with only the Minister of Finance Vasily Garbuzov and Council of Ministers Deputy: Dmitri Ustinov makes this meeting a lot more personal than both Korolev and Chelomey anticipated. While the men made themselves comfortable, eating their meals, Khrushchev began a conversation with both men.

Khrushchev: Gentlemen thank you for coming here tonight, How is your health doing Comrade Korolev?

Korolev was taken aback by the General Secretary’s more attentive tone.

Korolev: Why thank you, General Secretary. I have been mostly recovering from a heart attack I received last month. I assure you sir that acknowledging that will not stop me from continuing to do my best for the program and my service to the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev: Heart attacks are not a good sign to one’s health comrade Korolev.

Korolev: I understand sir, but… i must continue my work, if i take time off to recover and take it easier in the next few years, We will fall way behind schedule Right now I have a project in the works to get a man into space, scheduled on April, But should I reduce my efforts to recover, our program would be delayed for weeks, perhaps even months, giving the Americans ample time to catch up!

Khrushchev: Comrade Korolev, with all due respect, we can’t risk the health of one of our best engineers in the program for improved timetables. The Space program can afford delays but it may not really have delays, so as long as you recover, would you at least… consider the possibility for Comrade Chelomey to assist you directly to help in your projects?

Korolev and Chelomey look at each other in disbelief.

Chelomey: I beg your pardon, General Secretary?

Korolev: I am not working with Chelomey, Id rather have delays than have him take the credit for successes in my projects.

Chelomey: Seriously? Your Mars 1M project literally exploded on the launch site, it's obvious that the rocket needs some work and I know exactly what's wrong with it. But you will not let me even come close to your area.

Korolev: Exactly, because I believe you would just requisition the same rocket, make some modifications, launch a shittier version of my exploration device and steal my thunder.

Chelomey: Come on man, you know I'm a better engineer than you, perhaps you should come to the realization that the reason we are being delayed is that your rockets suck and assemble everything on the spot.

Khrushchev: Enough the both of you.

Garbuzov: Sounds like we have two gentlemen with very incompatible personalities General Secretary, do you still think this is a good idea?

Khrushchev: Trust me.

Korolev: Wait what? What is a good idea?

Khrushchev: As all of us are aware, last year on May 1960 we shot down an American high-altitude spy aircraft, while this has shown that we are perfectly capable of defending our own lands against incursions by US espionage, I have grown, let's say slightly more angry than before, especially towards the betrayal of my personal friend, US President Eisenhower that he would permit this. If the Americans are this technologically advanced to just overfly our airspace with spy aircraft at a whim, we need to catch up in the aerospace arena, massively so. Now I believe my good friend Ustinov is here to state a few changes to our space program:

Ustinov: Thank you, General Secretary, indeed, within the higher echelons of Soviet intelligence and the military-industrial complex, there is the belief of a widening technological gap between the United States and the Soviet Union: “The Technology Gap” as we call it. While we recognize the extraordinary success of the Sputnik and Vostok programs, the way we are handling the space program and to an extent the Soviet aerospace industry is not very efficient or sufficient to catch up to the United States, at least in partial parity. Thus we have been thinking of the space program all wrong. It should not be viewed as a propaganda tool but as a tool for national security and improvement as well as in the advancement of sciences that will assist our technological progress by proxy.

Garbuzov: We believe an expansion of the space program’s budget and its reorganization is needed. The State Treasury is perfectly capable of allocating further funding towards this program to allow for additional projects and the improvement of existing ones. For that to work, however, the Treasury will advise merging all spacecraft designers, engineers, and personnel working independently into a singular body overseen by the Council of Ministers. For this goal, we decided to establish the Ministry of Aeronautics and Space, also known as “Sovcosmos” it shall be a largely independent institution but will have a more streamlined and organized structure than the current ad-hoc space program which will ensure the funds are better spent and conditions within the program improve overall.

Korolev and Chelomey both were stunned and reclined on their seats in silence.

Chelomey: So this Sovcosmos would allow us to do more projects?

Garbuzov: All of them sir.

Korolev: All of them?

Garbuzov: That is correct.

Khrushchev: Knowing this, Comrade Korolev, we believe its time to state our reasoning and reassure the both of you, that your mutual rivalry is meaningless and counterproductive. Both of you will receive the compensation and praise that you deserve, whether in success or failure. Korolev, you are an exceptional manager, and Chelomey, you are an excellent engineer. Imagine the kind of success you would have if you could set your differences aside and work for the Soviet Union in song. So in conclusion, we are appointing you as head of Sovcosmos with Vladimir Chelomey and Valentin Glushko as Chief Engineers who will be working with you, Comrade Korolev. Understand that you can place trust in us, and understand as well that you 3 are the vanguard of the Soviet Union towards the great beyond, and only by working together can this be possible. Are we in agreement?

Both Korolev and Chelomey were speechless, throughout their lives they have struggled to attain the attention of the Politburo for the space program, in the interest of science and space exploration. It seems they have finally gotten their wish.

Korolev: Yes sir!

Chelomey: We are in agreement.

Khrushchev: Wonderful! A toast then to a new era!

The gentlemen present lift their glasses and drink welcoming the birth of the Soviet Space Agency, Sovcosmos.

With the new merger, the first test of Korolev’s team emerged, the launch of Mars 2M. The first launch of Mars 1M was an abject failure with the Molniya rocket exploding on the launch site, taking the probe with it. After careful inspection by Chelomey, he spots an issue with the fuel lines of the Molniya rocket mainly that it does not produce enough thrust causing it to cavitate, suggesting delaying the launch until February 1961. After days of hard work by Chelomey and Glushko, with Korolev recovering from his infection, the Mars 2M probe was ready for launch with the newly fixed Molniya rocket sitting on the launchpad.

5…

4…

3…

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The Molniya rocket blasts off into the heavens successfully breaking out of geocentric orbit with its propulsion systems functioning without incident. After several days of waiting, Mission control erupts with joy as the first registered data from the probe arrives on their monitors at Baikonur. Mars 2M has successfully executed a fly-by on Mars, capturing the first photographs of the Martian surface ever recorded in human history. Onboard equipment returned data back to Baikonur and communications feedback lasted for a few days until the craft’s propulsion gave out and the probe was lost in space. Despite the eventual loss of the craft, Mars 2M was seen as an extraordinary success, thus proving the fruits of success in cooperation if one can place a little faith in people. After returning from the doctor, Korolev returned to base meeting an elated Chelomey and Glushko, Despite both men’s feelings about each other, only being at best coworkers with a rivalry still ingrained within them, a ray of hope emerges out of a single tear shed by Korolev as he sees the first pictures of the Martian surface.