In 1926, the world's first liquid-fuel rocket was launched; 1957 – the first artificial Earth satellite was launched; 1961 was the year when man first left the earth's atmosphere, and in 1969 a representative of the planet set foot on the surface of the Moon... Phenomenal. But what’s strange... The scientists who created these miracles never met each other and practically did not correspond. Everyone went their own way. These are the scientists the book talks about. “Stop...” the reader (or editor) will say. “Who is the hero of the story? Where is the chase and the blood? After all, the hero must go through a thorny path in life and save humanity at the cost of his life.” There is no hero... no one will read the book (naturally, no one will publish it either). There are heroes. And even though their life paths are different, their goal is the same. So let's try reading the book. Let's learn about the lives of real (not fictional) heroes of our generation. And we’ll decide for ourselves... are they heroes? Which one is the main one? Who saves the world? And who was the first to receive a pass into the abyss of space.