who was the leader of the soviet union when sputnik was launched
Sputnik 1 The designers, engineers and technicians who developed the rocket and satellite watched the launch from the range.[62] After the launch they drove to the mobile radio station to listen for signals from the satellite.[62] They waited about 90 minutes to ensure that the satellite had made one orbit and was transmitting, before Korolev called Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.[63]