The Soviet Union back then was what China is today: the land of smoke and mirrors. They did have some worthwhile technological successes. The Russian people are genuinely some smart people. But a lot of the technologies were accomplished with a lot of human death and suffering. If OSHA could see the way the Soviets did their testing they’d have an aneurysm. And sometimes when things didn’t work, they faked it or just straight up lied to their own people. There were successes. But it was in spite of the Soviet system, not because of it.
CC
If your boss wants to sit next to you to the rocket ship to prove that the technology is safe… that fine. Just don’t listen to him when he orders you to sit there too !
This disaster killed the entire engineering team for this fuel system. That ended this program.
“On October 24, 1960, the Nedelin catastrophe, also known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome disaster, occurred at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Soviet Kazakhstan. It is the deadliest disaster in space exploration history, with more than 54 recognized casualties.
The tragedy occurred when a prototype R-16 intercontinental ballistic missile, being prepared for a test flight, experienced an electrical malfunction, causing the second stage engine to ignite prematurely. This led to a massive explosion, killing an unknown number of military and technical personnel working on the preparations. Chief Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin, the head of the R-16 development program, was among those who perished.”
The Russian people are genuinely some smart people.
**************************************************
Yes they are. More people need to understand this.
The political system is what killed them.
Some local idjits also need to understand what socialism does.