RUSSIANS COVERED UP FLAMING SPACE DISASTER

The Russians covered up a space disaster that killed more than 50 people.

A blazing rocket blast roasted a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome while space personnel checked for a technical glitch. Investigators determined the engine on the R-16 rocket's second stage ignited.

A survivor said he "walked away for a smoke" moments before, reports say. 

Topping the fatality was Chief Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin, in charge of the rocket program. Historians dubbed the catastrophe the "Nedelin Disaster." The Soviet government acknowledged the Oct. 24, 1960 tragedy almost 30 years later.

[Photo: Russian Space Agency]