Maps · Kyzylorda District · Landmarks, attractions

Site 41

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Qyzylorda oblysy, Qarmaqshy aýdany

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Tyrion

Level 19 Local Expert

The 41st site of the Baikonur cosmodrome is a place that has absorbed the greatness of the Soviet rocket era and at the same time its most terrible tragedy. On October 24, 1960, a disaster occurred here, which claimed about 80 lives, according to official data, but today it is already known that between 126 and 130 people actually died. Among them is the legendary Marshal of artillery, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin. What happened that day? As often happened, Moscow was in a hurry. There was a holiday ahead — the Day of the October Revolution, and Khrushchev personally demanded to speed up the work: "faster, faster." Everyone on the site was working hard, violating safety regulations. The rocket was fully fueled, and any work is strictly prohibited in this state. But Marshal Nedelin and Chief designer Mikhail Yangel were in a hurry, trusted each other, and hoped to make it. Constant malfunctions hindered the preparation. And at some point, an unauthorized engine start occurred, which caused an instantaneous ignition of the fuel tanks and a huge explosion. The temperature in the epicenter reached 3000 °C. The people who were at the rocket were burned alive — they literally turned into ashes, falling on concrete. There was almost nothing left of Marshal Nedelin — he was identified only by the badge of the Hero of the Soviet Union and a few buttons. Why did Yangel survive? Ironically, he was saved by a bad habit: being a smoker, he went down to the bunker to take a puff — it was forbidden to smoke on the site. At that moment, the explosion occurred. The disaster was classified. The newspapers wrote that Marshal Nedelin died in a plane crash. The workers' relatives were informed that their loved ones had died in a fire during a "fuel tank collapse." It wasn't until decades later that the truth became known. This tragedy has become a terrible lesson: safety is always written in blood. The pressure from above, the atmosphere of haste and the violation of regulations cost the lives of more than a hundred people. Three years later, on the same day, October 24, 1963, another tragedy occurred at Baikonur: gases accumulated in the rocket shaft, a spark caused an explosion, killing eight people. Since then, October 24 has been Cosmonautics Day of mourning, and no work or launches are underway on Baikonur on this day. Today, a memorial has been erected at the 41st site. Flowers are brought here every year on October 24. This is a tribute to the memory of the victims and an eternal reminder that disregard for safety is unacceptable. This day is not just a date. It is a pain, a memory, and a warning to all future generations.

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