The R-16 was the first successful intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the Soviet Union. During development, a massive failure occurred on October 24, 1960, when a prototype rocket exploded on the pad killing over 100 personnel. The book Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin
Today’s Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
As zero-hour approached, the missile began to drip nitric acid from its base. What does a cosmodrome commander do when a fully fuelled rocket springs a leak? He drains its fuel away carefully and then pumps non-flammable nitrogen through the tanks to get rid of any lingering vapours. Next day he might send in a couple of brave technicians in heavy fire-suits to ‘safe’ the rocket, so that it can be taken down and checked. Instead, Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin sent dozens of ground staff to the pad straight away, to see if they could tighten up some valves, stop the leaks, and get the R-16 up in the air. His instructions seemed so insane that the crews were at a loss how to proceed. In the firing blockhouse, the proper thing to do was to reset all the electronic sequencers and disarm them, before they could send any further ignition signals to the rocket. Nedelin ordered the firing sequences to be revised and delayed, but not cancelled. Somehow, a wrong command was transmitted to the R-16’s upper stage. Its engine fired, straight away burning a hole in the top of the stage beneath it. This lower stage exploded, instantly killing everyone on the gantry. With nothing to support it, the upper stage then crashed to the ground, spilling fuel and flame. The new tarmac aprons and roadways around the gantry melted in the heat, then caught fire. Ground staff fleeing for their lives were trapped in the viscous tar as it burned all around them. The conflagration spread for thousands of metres, a wave of fire engulfing everything and everyone in its path. More than 190 people were killed, including Nedelin, perched on his chair near the gantry, as a wall of blazing chemicals swept towards him.
Culled from: Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin
Of course, at the time of the accident, it was shrouded in complete secrecy. It was only after the fall of the communist regime in 1990 that the truth about this incident came to light, including a fascinating video of the disaster.
I received a Kindle for Christmas and, much to my Luddite dismay, I am loving it. My first purchase was this book. I am almost finished and I will write a full review as soon as I’m done, but I must highly recommend it. The space race was a fascinating time in history, and Gagarin was one of its tragic casualties.
I guess the video doesn’t come with its own audio? I clicked the link and didn’t hear any explosions, just some kind of mildly ominous background music.
We got my mom a Kindle for Xmas too and she fell in love with it. Her first Kindle purchase is a book about Catherine the Great.
Her second Kindle purchase was also a book about Catherine the Great.
Great artical all the stuff you write is cool, very sorry about your dad..!!!