The space research program in the USSR began and was carried out in the first decades of the space era in an atmosphere of the Cold War and fierce competition with the United States for possession of leading positions in the world. This period was marked by outstanding scientific and technical achievements achieved thanks to the exceptional talent of Soviet scientists and engineers who created wonderful robotic spacecraft and received pioneering results of world importance. The book contains a chronologically complete and objective analysis of these achievements along with the difficulties and failures in the implementation of space projects against the backdrop of Soviet-American rivalry in this area.