The Nedelin Catastrophe
How did one rocket launch kill 120 people?
4.7 (24)
48 mins
Explore how political pressure and ignored safety warnings turned the R-16 missile test into the Nedelin Catastrophe. Discover the devastating fire that killed scores of engineers, soldiers, and technicians at Baikonur. Learn about the decades-long cover-up and how the truth finally emerged under glasnost.
Ep 1:
The Rocket, The Ritual, and Devil's Venom
Before the disaster, discover Baikonur's eerie rituals, the failed promise of the R-7 missile, and the birth of a toxic new rocket fuel nicknamed 'Devil's Venom.'
Ep 2:
The Lawn Chair and the Deadline
As a political deadline looms, Marshal Nedelin overrules every safety warning, bypassing critical systems while a fully fueled, corrosive missile sits surrounded by hundreds of workers.
Ep 3:
Fireball on Launchpad 41
A stray electrical pulse ignites catastrophe: a 3,000-degree fireball engulfs Launchpad 41, followed by Khrushchev's fury and a ruthless decades-long Soviet cover-up.
Ep 4:
The Long Silence Breaks
The hidden disaster's shockwaves reach the Cuban Missile Crisis, until glasnost finally exposes the truth—and Baikonur marks October 24th forever as a forbidden day.
Discussions (5)
Cecil
Level 4 · 4 days agoThe tar pit detail is what got me. Imagine that.
Jack
Level 3 · 4 days agoA general who sets up a lawn chair next to a fueled rocket loaded with Devil's Venom basically wrote his own obituary. The watch surviving is peak Soviet irony.
Abigail
Level 2 · 4 days agoNedelin had a lawn chair tho??
