Talk:Nedelin catastrophe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Fuels =

Nitric acid is not an oxidant so it surpised me to see it listed with "fuels" (the combination needs fuel and a reactive agent). UDMH is normally used with the oxidant Nitrogen Tetroxide, however I do not have record of what they were using on this ocassion

[edit] Site Source Question

The aftermath section has a sentence that reads "A memorial to the dead technicians was erected near Baikonur and is still visited by RKA officals before any manned launch."

Is it true that RKA officials visit before any manned launch? What's the citation for this?

Cheers,Barce 18 July 2005 23:29:43 PDT

I don't know, that particular tidbit was inserted by 217.207.146.218 a little while ago. Given his other contributions, I'm inclined to believe it's true, but you're right, a citation/reference would be good. -Lommer | talk 21:01, 19 July 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Bad Link

Both the "R-12" and "R-14" references, which should point at other launchers, point at refrigerant entries instead.

Kurt Brandon 16 September 2005 22:22:00

[edit] Discrepancy

Just happened to notice, 1960 says 91 people died in the disaster while October 24 gives a figure of 165 people. I don't know what the real death toll is, but at least I know a contradiction when I see one. Someone should probably fix it and then add the accurate number to the Nedelin catastrophe article. - green_meklar

The RussianSpaceWeb article gives an official figure of 92 dead and 49 injured, but adding up the numbers (84 soldiers buried on site, multiple soldiers buried elsewhere, and at least 18 civilians) indicates at least 104 deaths. The Aerospaceweb page says 122 dead. The videocosmos one says 126 were killed instantly, but its description of the explosion is inconsistent with the others, and IMO a little sensationalist. I think the best we can do is to stick with 'over 100'. --Townmouse 15:33, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

126 victims, including those who died in the hospitals. Source: B.E.Chertok. Missiles and People. Fili-Podlipki-Tyuratam. 212.188.108.195 08:03, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

We need better sourcing for these numbers, I was just noticing that. Night Gyr (talk/Oy) 20:51, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Let's face it... the old Soviet government did a lot of covering up on that disaster. To tell the truth, the world might never know the true number, so I'm afraid that this estimating is the best that anyone can do. BiggKwell 01:34, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Right, but we're not supposed to make our own estimates, so we need precisely sourced ones. Night Gyr (talk/Oy) 03:01, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

The sources listed at the bottom of the article in the external links, all give different estimates. You will not be able to come up with a figure that has any certainty to it; the article will need a casualty figure couched in terms such as "The official deathtoll was 90 but estimates are as high as 200, with c.120 being the generally accepted figure." (See http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0179.shtml, where we read: "However, the true casualty list has always remained a mystery. More recent investigations have estimated the death toll as high as 200. The best estimate, however, appears to be around 122 fatalities. This value includes 74 killed in the blast and 48 who died over subsequent weeks from injuries due to burns or exposure to toxic chemicals." This article http://www.russianspaceweb.com/r16_disaster.html which is also an external link at the bottom of the article, only gives the official figure and does not voice any doubt about them. Possibly they are following the lead of Ogonyok, but I no longer have any back issues of it handy to check. There is, after all, the possibility that the official deathtoll was accurate, isn't there? Hi There 08:31, 15 January 2007 (UTC)