The R16 was the first successful intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the Soviet Union During development, a massive failure occurred on , when a prototype rocket exploded on the pad killing over 100 personnel After years of government coverup, this Nedelin disaster was finally revealed After the massive delays associated with the deaths of most people NBC News reports Space company Firefly launched its inaugural Alpha rocket on a cloudless Thursday evening over the California coast The Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base's SLC2 complex, climbing west over the Pacific But about two and a half minutes after launch, Firefly's rocket began flipping end over end and exploded in the airNo details about the accident or names of other victims have been released At Site 41 in Baikonur several monuments commemorate names of those lost in the explosion of the R16 rocket on It took almost three decades before the first publication in the official Soviet press shed the light on what really happened in October 1960
Space Is Hard But Why Elizabeth A Frank
