Reports coming out of Russia say that two people were killed at the Plesetsk space launch facility last week while doing routine work cleaning out a propellant tank. The Russian newspaper Ria Novosti said that on November 9, 2013, two workers were killed and three others were hospitalized after being exposed to poisonous nitrogen vapors while doing maintenance at the facility. Officials from the Russia Defense Ministry were quoted as saying the accident appeared to have been caused by failure to follow safety regulations.
The Plesetsk cosmodrome is located in the northwestern Arkhangelsk province. The facility has been undergoing refurbishing to take over a majority of the launches as Russia looks to reduce reliance on the Baikonur cosmodrome, which it leases from the former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan.
Currently, Russia uses Plesetsk to test intercontinental ballistic missile and to launch satellites, but they are hoping to use new facilities by next year to test the Angara heavy rocket.
Ria Novosti said it was unclear what accounted for the delay between the incident and its announcement, “but sensitive military issues are typically kept highly confidential in Russia.”
Unfortunately, over 50 people have been killed at this launch facility since 1973. In June of 1973, 9 people were killed by an explosion of Cosmos-3M rocket; in March of 1980, 48 people were killed by an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket with a Tselina satellite, during a fueling operation; and in October of 2002, a Soyuz-U carrying the ESA Foton-M1 project failed to launch and exploded, killing one.
Right now, just one-fourth of Russia’s launches occur from within Russia itself, but Russia’s Federal Space Agency hope to have nine-tenths of its space launches from Plesetsk and the Vostochny cosmodrome by 2030.
Sources: Ria Novosti, Russian Space Web
They died from inhaling nitrogen vapors? Isn’t 70% of Earth’s atmosphere nitrogen? The only thing nitrogen could do was displace enough oxygen in your lungs to make you pass out or suffocate. Is that what happened?
Yes, Nitrogen is not poisonous but in a confined space it acts as a
displacer of oxygen which is normally around 20.5% when it displaces oxygen below 19.5% is considered dangerous and proper safety plans, monitoring and breathing apparatuses should be used.
Unfortunately, it is a usual problem in Russia. Often it is necessary to ignore some safety precautions to meet deadlines, keep money or else.
My dentist has N20. Good stuff.
N 2 O is nitrous oxide also called Laughing Gas used to deaden the pain associated with walking through the door of your dentists operating room.
This is very sad.
oh nice, you guys have disqus again. whatever you were running previously wouldn’t even show up in my browser.
my heart goes out to the victims of this tragedy, especially if they trusted someone else to give the all clear for gas and that person was negligent.
I know Discus has its issues, but I couldn’t use the other commenting system. So I’m glad they switched back, whatever their rational was.
Bummer.. We lost a shuttle technician in 1981, before the first flight due to nitrogen gas poisoning.. remember that one? Dzzzz….
Thanks for the link to the Angara heavy rocket. A VERY interesting rocket, especially the ‘heavy’..