Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel (Russian:Михаил Кузьмич Янгель; 7 November 1911 – 25 October 1971), was aSoviet engineer born inIrkutsk who was the leading designer in the missile program of the formerSoviet Union.

Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel
2011 Stamp of Ukraine depicting the image of Mikhail Yangel andR-11 rocket
Born	(1911-11-07)7 November 1911 Zyryanov settlement ofIrkutsk gubernia,Russian Empire
Died	25 October 1971(1971-10-25) (aged 59) Moscow,USSR
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery,Moscow
Occupation	Engineer
Engineering career
Practice name	Rocket engineering
Awards	Lenin Prize (1960),USSR State Prize (1967), 4Orders of Lenin,Order of the October Revolution,medals
Signature

Yangel was the grandson of a Russian political prisoner who had been deported toSiberia by the Tsarist regime.^[1][2]

Yangel's career started as an aviation engineer, after graduating from Moscow Aviation Institute in 1937. He worked with famous aircraft designersNikolai Polikarpov and later,Artem Mikoyan. Then he moved to the field of ballistic missiles, where he first was in charge ofguidance systems. AsSergei Korolev’s associate, he set up a rocket propulsion centre inDnepropetrovsk inUkSSR which later formed the basis of his ownOKB-586 design bureau in 1954. At first, Yangel’s facility served to mass-produce and further developintercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in which area Yangel was a pioneer of storeablehypergolic fuels. His bureau designed theR-12,R-16 andR-36, whose launch vehicle adaptations are known asKosmos,Tsyklon andDnepr respectively. Yangel narrowly avoided death during the development of the R-16 in the 1960Nedelin catastrophe.

Yangel's bureau was part of theMinistry of General Machine Building headed bySergey Afanasyev.

He died inMoscow in 1971.

For his outstanding work, Mikhail Yangel was awarded theLenin Prize in 1960 andUSSR State Prize in 1967. He was also awarded fourOrders of Lenin,Order of the October Revolution, and numerousmedals.

Several notable places were named after Yangel:

• A street in theChertanovo neighborhood inMoscow
• AMetro stationUlitsa Akademika Yangelya on theSerpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line (near the above street)
• A street inKyiv
• One of the two major streets inBaikonur (the other is in honor of his main rivalSergei Korolev)
• The craterYangel on theMoon.

Aminor planet3039 Yangel discovered bySoviet astronomerLyudmila Zhuravlyova in 1978 is named after him.^[3]

• Sergei Korolev
• Vladimir Chelomey

• "Rockets and people" –B. E. Chertok, M: "mechanical engineering", 1999.ISBN 5-217-02942-0(in Russian)
• "Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life" Events and facts -A.I. Ostashev,Korolyov, 2001.[1];
• "Baikonur. Korolev. Yangel." - M. I. Kuznetsk,Voronezh: IPF "Voronezh", 1997,ISBN 5-89981-117-X;
• A.I. Ostashev,Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGULISBN 978-5-8135-0510-2.
• "Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C.,Kyiv, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix",ISBN 978-966-136-169-9
• "S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity" - edited by C. A. Lopota,RSC Energia. S. P. Korolev, 2014ISBN 978-5-906674-04-3
• The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur
• "Space science city Korolev" - Author: Posamentir R. D. M: publisher SP Struchenevsky O. V.,ISBN 978-5-905234-12-5
• "I look back and have no regrets. " - Author: Abramov, Anatoly Petrovich: publisher "New format" Barnaul, 2022.ISBN 978-5-00202-034-8

• Mikhail Yangel family history(in Russian)