The book summarizes the largest achievements of the Soviet Union in the exploration and development of outer space. The main stages of the development of Soviet cosmonautics in the period 1957-1975. and its background. The role of collectives and individual scientists in space exploration is shown. The design and operation of the first artificial Earth satellites, the designs of the Soviet manned spacecraft Vostok, Voskhod, Soyuz, and the Salyut orbital stations are described. The significance of space technology for solving national economic problems is described. Space tools for the study of the Moon, Venus, Mars are considered. The role of international cooperation in the study and exploration of space is shown. An approximate forecast of the development of world cosmonautics until the end of the XX - beginning of the XXI centuries is given.