Major role for Sergei Korolev, a 50 year old anthro bear man who works as the head of the Soviet space program, circa 1957. Based on the historical figure of the same name, Korolev is an imposing, experienced and pragmatic rocket scientist who puts his duties to the state above all else. He's also secretly paranoid about the possibility that the United States might uncover his identity and assassinate him to get ahead in the space race. He's in charge of the Sputnik 2 mission, which plans on being the first satellite to ever put a person into space. But the Soviet government is pressuring him to have it launch in time for the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, meaning there's no time for a plan on how to get Laika, the test subject, back to Earth alive. He doesn't like this one bit, and he wishes things could be different. But as a gulag survivor, Korolev knows better than to risk defying the government