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The launch abort system burned through its wires and stole twelve seconds

A pad fire engulfs a Soyuz minutes before launch; two men have twelve seconds to send a manual escape - live or die?

The launch abort system burned through its wires and stole twelve seconds

In this episode, we follow the moment a pad fire ignited ninety seconds before liftoff and the cascade of decisions that followed. We trace the crew’s training, the failed automatic abort, and the twelve seconds that rested on two engineers' hands - did they act in time?

Person: Vladimir Titov

Person: Gennady Strekalov

Date: September 27, 1983

Event: Pad fire and launch abort

Location: Launch pad

- Fire…

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