The Terrifying 4-Kiloton Rocket Disaster the USSR Erased for 20 Years

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union secretly developed the N1, a massive 105-meter super-heavy launch vehicle designed to beat the American Apollo program to the moon. Powered by 30 engines and analog computers, the untested 2.7-million-kilogram rocket suffered a series of failures. After a 4-kiloton explosion vaporized the launch pad at Baikonur, the USSR dismantled the remaining hardware and erased the classified lunar program from history for over two decades.