It¡¯s easy to be fascinated with rocket launches. Big hulking machines burning propellant and putting stuff into orbit around earth look like magic every time you see it. Even if it¡¯s just on TV. Most pictures and footage you see are taken from a safe distance, which is usually a couple of kilometres away.
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This is because there are a lot of dangers involved. Rocket fuel burns at around 3,000 degrees Celsius and you¡¯ll probably evaporate if you stood too close. Even from a fair distance the shockwave and the blast from the flame poses a threat.
Also read: This Russian Rocket Launch Timelapse Video From Space Puts Hollywood Directors To Shame
But that didn¡¯t stop one crazy Russian space enthusiast from getting close. How close did he get? Turns out it was only about 150 meters from the launch pad called Gagarin¡¯s Start at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
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Bonus fact: As the name suggests, this is the same launch pad where the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin took off from back in 1961 onboard Vostok 1. The launch pad is still being used to launch cosmonauts to the ISS on the Soyuz rocket.
Here¡¯s the footage he got and going by the noise, we sure hope he was wearing a good pair of ear plugs.