Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!pacbell.com!ucsd!hub.ucsb.edu!ucsbuxa!3001crad
From: 3001crad@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Charles Frank Radley)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Soviet rocket blows up during launch?
Message-ID: <6738@hub.ucsb.edu>
Date: 23 Oct 90 19:16:13 GMT
References: <3330033@hpindda.cup.hp.com>
Sender: news@hub.ucsb.edu
Lines: 29

In article <3330033@hpindda.cup.hp.com> mears@hpindda.cup.hp.com (David Mears) writes:

>A couple of weeks (or was that months?) ago, I saw a small sidebar
>article in the local newspaper about a Soviet heavy lift rocket
>blowing up early during launch, maybe even on the pad.  It wasn't
>an Energia, but I don't recall what they called it.  I seem to
>recall that much damage was done to the launch tower.  The Soviets
>never actually said that it blew up, but they used a euphemism that
>essentially meant that.

>I was expecting some mention and/or discussion of this event to
>show up here, but nary a word has appeared.  Is anyone out there
>aware of what happened and can fill in some details?  Or has noone
>else heard of this before?  (Or does noone care?)

>David B. Mears
>Hewlett-Packard
>Cupertino CA
The rocket which exploded was a Zenit, which is their most
"reliable" booster and the one they are currently trying to sell
commercially.    At least by admitting their failures they will get
credibility in their reliability statistics and thus make it easier to
get insurance from western brokers.
 The explosion took place at Baikonur.
I heard somewhere that the payload was an Elint spacecraft
I would be interested to hear how soon after liftoff it exploded, and whether it was destroyed by
range safety or acutally exploded.   also, which stage exploded,
and what was the cause.......
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