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1980 Plesetsk Launch Pad Disaster
The 1980 Plesetsk launch pad disaster was the explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket carrying a Tselina-D satellite during fueling at Site 43/4 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the town of Mirny in the Soviet Union at 19:01 local time (16:01 UTC) on 18 March 1980, two hours and fifteen minutes before the intended launch time. Forty-four people were killed in the initial fire and four more soon died in the hospital from burns. It is the second deadliest space exploration-related disaster in history. Sequence of events On 17 March the rocket was installed at the launch site. Various preliminary tests conducted before the fueling went as expected and without problem. The Vostok-2M had been flying for 16 years with only a single in-flight failure and this vehicle, S/N 78055-330, would have been the 70th one launched. The launch of the rocket was scheduled to take place at 21:16 on 18 March. Several hours before the intended launch, the tanks were filled with RP-1 at 19:00 and preceded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome () is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. Until 2025 and the commissioning of the Andøya Space, Andøya base in Norway, it was the only operational orbital spaceport in Europe and the northernmost spaceport in the world. Originally developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) site for the R-7 (missile), R-7 missile, its strategic location approximately north of Moscow was key to its selection. Due to its high latitude, Plesetsk is particularly suited for specific types of satellite launches, such as those into Molniya orbits, and historically served as a secondary launch facility. Most Soviet orbital launches were conducted from Baikonur Cosmodrome, located in the Kazakh SSR. However, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became part of Kazakhstan, which began charging Russia to lease the land for its use. As a result, Plesetsk has seen significant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonid Smirnov (politician)
Leonid Vasilyevich Smirnov (; 16 April 1916 – 21 December 2001)Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991, Смирнов Леонид Васильевич ''(Handbook on the History of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union 1898 - 1991, Leonid Smirnov)'' was a statesman. He served as a director of the missile factory at |
Space Accidents And Incidents In The Soviet Union
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as ''spacetime''. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe. However, disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework. In the 19th and 20th centuries mathematicians began to examine geometries that are non-Euclidean, in which space is conceived as '' curved'', rather than '' flat'', as in the Euclidean space. According to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, space around gravitational fields deviates from Euclidean space. Experimental tests of general relativity have confirmed that non-Euclidean geometries provide a better model f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vostok Program
The Vostok programme ( ; rus, Восток, p=vɐˈstok, a=ru-восток.ogg, t=East) was a Soviet human spaceflight project to put the first Soviet cosmonauts into low Earth orbit and return them safely. Competing with the United States Project Mercury, it succeeded in placing the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in a single orbit in Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961. The Vostok capsule was developed from the Zenit spy satellite project, and its launch vehicle was adapted from the existing R-7 Semyorka intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) design. The name "Vostok" was treated as classified information until Gagarin's flight was first publicly disclosed to the world press. The programme carried out six crewed spaceflights between 1961 and 1963. The longest flight lasted nearly five days, and the last four were launched in pairs, one day apart. This exceeded Project Mercury's demonstrated capabilities of a longest flight of just over 34 hours, and of single missions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explosions In 1980
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated by a slower expansion that would normally not be forceful, but is not allowed to expand, so that when whatever is containing the expansion is broken by the pressure that builds as the matter inside tries to expand, the matter expands forcefully. An example of this is a Volcano, volcanic eruption created by the expansion of magma in a magma chamber as it rises to the surface. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known as detonations and travel through shock waves. wikt:subsonic, Subsonic explosions are created by low explosives through a slower combustion process known as deflagration. Causes For an explosion to occur, there must be a rapid, forceful expansion of matter. There are numerous ways this can happen, both natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980 Disasters In The Soviet Union
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai, Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. 249) Deaths * Li Jue, Chinese warlord and regent * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
March 1980 In Europe
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere's March. History The name of March comes from '' Martius'', the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named after Mars, the Roman god of war, and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. His month ''Martius'' was the beginning of the season for warfare, and the festivals held in his honor during the month were mirrored by others in October, when the season for these activities came to a close. ''Martius'' remained the first month of the Roman calendar year perhaps as late as 153 BC, and several religious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pravda
''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the country with a newspaper circulation, circulation of 11 million. The newspaper began publication on 5 May 1912 in the Russian Empire but was already extant abroad in January 1911. It emerged as the leading government newspaper of the Soviet Union after the October Revolution. The newspaper was an organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU between 1912 and 1991. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ''Pravda'' was sold by the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin to a Greek business family in 1992, and the paper came under the control of their private company Pravda International. In 1996, there was an internal dispute between the owners of Pravda International and some of the ''Pravda'' journalists that led to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kommersant
(, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily was 120,000–130,000. It is widely considered to be one of Russia's three main business dailies (together with '' Vedomosti'' and '' RBK Daily''). History The original ''Kommersant'' newspaper was established in Moscow in 1909, but was shut down by the Bolsheviks following the October Revolution in 1917. In 1989, with the onset of press freedom in Russia, was relaunched under the ownership of businessman and publicist Vladimir Yakovlev. The first issue was released in January 1990. It was modeled after Western business journalism. The newspaper's title is spelled in Russian with a terminal hard sign (ъ) – a letter that is silent at the end of a word in modern Russian, and was thus largely abolished by the post-revolution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samara
Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 million residents, up to 1.22 million residents in the urban agglomeration, not including Novokuybyshevsk, which is not conurbated. The city covers an area of , and is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, eighth-largest city in Russia and tenth agglomeration, the Volga#Biggest cities on the shores of the Volga, third-most populous city on the Volga, as well as the Volga Federal District. Formerly a closed city, Samara is now a large and important social, political, economic, industrial, and cultural centre in Russia and hosted the European Union—Russia Summit in May 2007. It has a continental climate characterised by hot summers and cold winters. The life of Samara's citizens has always been intrinsically linked to the V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%–6% by weight) in water for consumer use and in higher concentrations for industrial use. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or "high-test peroxide", decomposes explosively when heated and has been used as both a monopropellant and an oxidizer in rocketry. Hydrogen peroxide is a reactive oxygen species and the simplest peroxide, a compound having an oxygen–oxygen single bond. It decomposes slowly into water and elemental oxygen when exposed to light, and rapidly in the presence of organic or reactive compounds. It is typically stored with a Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizer in a weakly acidic solution in an opaque bottle. Hydrogen peroxide is found in biological systems including the human body. Enzymes that u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43, is a launch complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. It consists of two pads, Sites 43/3 and 43/4 (also known as SK-3 and SK-4) and has been used by R-7-derived rockets since the early 1960s. , both pads remain in use for the Soyuz-2.1a and Soyuz-2.1b Soyuz2 (; GRAU index: 14A14) is a Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket family. Compared to its predecessors, Soyuz-2 features significant upgrades, including improved engines and ... rockets. Additionally, Site 43/4 also hosts launches of the smaller Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle. Originally constructed for the R-7A Semyorka missiles, the site hosted its first launch on 21 December 1965, when an R-7A test flight was conducted from Site 43/3. The first launch from Site 43/4 followed on 25 July 1967. After its decommissioning as a missile base, the complex was repurposed for space launches. The first orbital launch occurred on 3 D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
