Sergey Korolev, whose rocket would put the first human in space, was purged and imprisoned in 1938 by the very regime he later served. 
During his time as director of the Soviet space program, paranoid Russians referred to him only as "Chief Designer" to prevent assassination attempts. His identity was only revealed after his death in 1966.
Today his name is memorialized by the “Korolev Cross”: the symmetrical dance the liquid-fueled boosters perform after separating during a Soyuz launch.
