Question Unidentified past R-7 launch failure ? (Plestesk)

[N_Molson]

Found this on Facebook, never seen that video before. I don't think it is very fresh stuff, still no idea of what launch it was. Any idea ?

Seems we have a complete shutdown of the 5 engines, Block A/B/V/G separation, then the whole hitting the ground like a sort of napalm cluster bomb. :blink:

Title of the post is "EXCLUSIVE VIDEO of a still unidentified Plesetsk Soyuz launch failure !!!"

https://www.facebook.com/Kosmonavtika?fref=nf

 

[Urwumpe]

The ending of the video is identical to the Nedelin disaster engineering camera film. It looks like it is a mash-up of multiple Russian rocket failures.

 

[N_Molson]

Yeah, that's a possiblity, I don't know what exactly but something looks a bit wrong.

 

[Urwumpe]

Yeah, that's a possiblity, I don't know what exactly but something looks a bit wrong.

Well, there are multiple issues there. I can only tell you which R-7 launch failure it not was, but there are still many similar accidents left. I can only tell that around 1:18, you see footage of the Nedelin disaster.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

See http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36265.0 - basically it seems to be one of several R-7 failures at Plesetsk in the 1980s, with the one on May 15, 1982 being the most probable candidate. And yes, somehow that TV channel mixed Nedelin disaster footage into it.

 

[GigaG]

This is very interesting! Soviet/Russian rocket failure footage is hard to come by. This FB page gets a like from me! (Not to say rocket failures are the best thing- they are terrifying to those involved, disappointing, and God forbid, sometimes injure or hurt people. They just are quite interesting to look at, and spectacular.)

Now if only there is footage of this-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_E-3_No.2

As for this video, the May 15, 1982 failure seems to be a Zenit. Zenit was based on Vostok if I remember correctly (with the capsule carrying cameras instead of acosmonaut), and the fairing on this failure looks similar to those used on Vostok. So it very well may be that failure. Although it looks like more than the Block A engines failed - I'm guessing the boosters were what we saw burning, but that doesn't explain why the rockets themselves seemed to cut off before the second flame started.