A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.

The Vostok-2M, GRAU index: 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2, for injecting lighter payloads into higher Sun-synchronous orbits. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets, and the last Vostok.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43, is a launch complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. It consists of two pads, Sites 43/3 and 43/4 and has been used by R-7-derived rockets since the early 1960s. As of 2024, both pads remain in use for the Soyuz-2.1a and Soyuz-2.1b rockets. Additionally, Site 43/4 also hosts launches of the smaller Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle.

The 1980 Plesetsk launch pad disaster was the explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket carrying a Tselina-D satellite during fueling at Site 43/4 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the town of Mirny in the Soviet Union at 19:01 local time (16:01 UTC) on 18 March 1980, two hours and fifteen minutes before the intended launch time. Forty-four people were killed in the initial fire and four more soon died in the hospital from burns. It is the second deadliest space exploration-related disaster in history.