It was not a Military ICBM – it was one of the early modifications of the R-7 booster – military designation 8A92M – a 3-stage Vostok booster. It was also an attempt to launch an electronic spy satellite ("Tselina" series) – no discloser about the satellite was ever made and the first rumors about the accident were first published 1991.It has to be taken into account, that despite the fact that Plesetsk was known to the CIA for a few years after it's creation and disclosed to the Western public in the late 70's, the first official publications in the Soviet Union about the existence of this space range were not made until the middle of 80's. Plesetsk was a real secret place as 80-85% of all the military and spy satellites were launched from there. On March 18th, 1980 during filling of the booster with liquid oxygen – 2 hours before the scheduled launch time – soldiers discovered an oxygen leak in a pipeline close to the booster. As it used to be in Russia – despite its alleged superiority – they decided to fix the problem with improvised means – this time it was a wet rag. The day was very cool and the wet rag was supposed to stop the leak instantly. Unfortunately the rag was taken from a nearby truck – and was dirty (with traces of oil and gas). It took only a few seconds for the rag to catch on fire – and another minute to put the entire launch pad, and then the booster itself ablaze. Korolyov's deputy, academician Boris Chertok put it best: "Not one top official or top officer perished in the accident and that is why, naturally, nothing was disclosed to the public about it. It was the second biggest on-ground accident since October 24, 1960 (Nedelin's disaster)." The truth about the wet rag was only understood after several months work on the part of the accident commission – after extensive chemical tests and eyewitness interviews – there were slightly less than 100 people on the pad during the accident. |
