A paradoxical and terrible story of how, during the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile at Baikonur, between 78 and 126 people died, among them the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces, Chief Marshal…
Nedelin is known for his keen interest in technology and rockets, and for often attending launches and tests in person: he flew out to watch the explosions of hydrogen and atomic bombs and visited the landing sites of spacecraft. News of his death was released almost at once, but with the wording "as a result of an air crash". Naturally, everything that had happened was kept secret for a long time. They say that all that remained of Nedelin was his Gold Star of a Hero or the band of his marshal's cap.
On 19 April 1960, half a year before the tragedy, another catastrophe had occurred, with the launch vehicle of the lunar probe Ye-3. It was followed by a resolution of the State Commission that unnecessary persons must not be present on the launch pad and might observe from trenches instead.
Those who died on 24 October included first-rate specialists preparing the rocket for launch, high-ranking military men, scientists and rank-and-file soldiers. A terrible fire destroyed literally every structure and installation on the pad, even the metal ones, apart from a few rocket sections made of fireproof steel. All that remained of the people were dark stains on the asphalt. Some write that the launch was being rushed because of Khrushchev's visit to America or the approaching anniversary of the October Revolution. The designer of the R-16 rocket, Mikhail Yangel, managed to survive: a few minutes before the flash, observing safety regulations, he had left the pad to have a smoke.
