Disasters

Russian Disasters

R-16 In 1960, a Soviet rocket, the R-16 was being tested. During the testing, problems arose but the man who oversaw the final launch, Field Marshal Nedelin, insisted the operation continue. The bad wiring connection caused a command signal to be sent to the second stage and ignited the engine. The engine then burned through the first stage upper tank, causing it to explode. Much of the acid formed a toxic cloud that seared the lungs of nearby workers and onlookers. At least 91 people were killed, including Field Marshal Nedelin.	The R-16 rocket
Soyuz 5 burning up in the atmosphere	Soyuz 5 In 1969, Boris Volynov, a cosmonaut, had to jettison his extra space modules, from a docking with Soyuz 4, when he was preparing for re-entry. They did not fully separate from the ship, blocking his heat shield, causing the ship to tumble. He gained control and upon re-entry the nose, the thinnest part of the ship faced forward so it started to burn as it traveled through the atmosphere. The parachute could only partially deploy due to the damage. Rescue teams found Volynov in a peasant hut after crashing. Luckily, he only had minor injuries.
Soyuz 11 On June 29th, 1971, Viktor Patsayev, Georgi Dobrovolsky, and Vladislav Volkov, three cosmonauts, were killed on re-entry. The explosive bolts were fired to separate the landing capsule with the rest of the ship and the explosion opened a valve. The vacumn of space was causing the air out to escape the craft, one of them tried to close it by hand but he could not. All of the air escaped from the capsule, killing the three cosmonauts thirty minutes before landing.	The crew of the Soyuz 11