11 COSMONAUTS DIE IN SPACE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP69B00369R000100220033-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 5, 2003
• Sequence Number: 33
• Content Type: NSPR

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11 Cosmonauts
Die in Space
By ROBERT S. ALLEN
and PAUL SCOTT
WASHINGTON - Space and lieve this costly accident may
missile" accidents in Russia are be one reason the Russians are
causing far more deaths than now blaming the death of three
those in the U.S. U.S. astronauts on pressure to
On the basis of latest U.S. In- rush the space program.
telligence data, the Soviet has ? ,r Kremlin pressure on Soviet
lost at least 11 cosmonauts since 'scientists to develop the first nu-
its first space flight in 19660, clear - powered missile is cited
which was unsuccessful. T h i s in the CIA report as one of ,he
has never been publicly ad- probable causes of the Russian
mitted, although all the tragedy.
pertinent 'facts are known to,.__ As related by the CIA, many
U.S. authorities. of the Soviet's leading scientists
Significantly, five of the Rus- were working under Marshal
sian cosmonauts were killed Nedelin in a furious crash pro-
when their spacecrafts failed to gram to develop a nuclear mis-
go into orbit after reaching silo before the 43rd anniversary
heights of several hundred of t h e October revolution.
miles. Khrushchev, t h e n Premier,
No U.S. astronaut has been wanted to announce a successful
lost in flight. The only deaths launching during the celebra-
have been in accidents or, the tion, and ordered that no effort
ground and in plane crashes not be spared to achieve it.
connected with the space pro- When the missile was tested,
terious death. Peking.
Washington authorities be-
Inside Labor
The six other Soviet eosmo- pad. After a period had elapsed,
nauts lost their lives in a series Nedelin and the scientists left.
of mishaps ranging from mis- the safety of the blockhouse to
siles exploding during count- examine t h e missile. Suddenly,
downs to training incidents in- there was a titanic explosion,
volving helicopter crashes. killing everyone in the vicinity.
These and other details of the, The CIA report also tells of
'Russian fatalities are high- other cases where missiles be-
lighted in a Central Intelligence ing tested in Russia have gone
Agency report prepared for the off course and hit inhabited
White House ? several weeks be- areas.
fore the Cape Kennedy disaster While it has been U.S. policy
that took the lives of astronauts not to make official announcr-
Virgil Grissom, Edward White ments regarding fatal Soviet
and Robert Chaffee. space accidents, the Cape Ken-
The CIA study reveals that the nedy tragedy may change this.
U.S. has radio intercepts of the Under discussion by an in-
frantic efforts of Soviet ground ner Administration Intelligence
controllers to contact their cos- committee is a proposal to pro-
monauts after their spacecraft vide the House and Senate
failed to orbit. Space Committees with publish-
These voice recordings, as ah:e CIA findings of such Rus-
well as records of the simulta- sian mishaps.
reous tracking of the space- Also being deliberated is sub-
crafts, have given the U.S. in mitting t o these committees
disputable proof of the tightly during their inquiries of the
guarded fatal Russian space ac- Cape Kennedy tragedy a report
cidents. on the 11 Soviet space deaths.
Several of the cosmonauts' One purpose would be to demon-
deaths have further been con- strate that the U.S. space pro-
firmed by scientists in Iron Cur- gram is still by far the safest,
tain countries, and a CIA source U.S. officials are watching to
who is described as "our most see whether delegates from
accurate informer on the Soviet Hanoi, Viet Cong and Peking,
space program." accept invitations to attend a
The CIA report also sheds privately sponsored "world
light on a long - rumored Rus- peace conference" in Geneva in
sian nuclear missile explosion May.
that killed Marshall M. L. Node- The American Center for the
lin, missile program chief, and Study of Democratic Institu.
more than 300 scientists and tions, sponsoring the meeting,
technicians. has notified the State Depart-
This sensational disaster oc- ment that invitations have gone
curred in September 1960. Ex- to the three communist groups.
cept for a one - paragraph an- Also that North Vietnam and
nouncement in the Soviet press the Viet Cong have indicated
that Nedelin had died "in line of "serious interest" in sending
duty, the Kremlin has never representatives.
disclosed any details of his mys- ' There has been no reply from
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