Word: vostok
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Pressagentry is supersensitive in the U.S.S.R. And so, not until last week did Russia let the world know about a dramatic August 1960 crisis that almost brought disaster to Vostok, the Soviet base near the South Magnetic Pole...
August is the coldest month at Vostok, and during three dark days the temperature fell to the alltime record low of -88.5° C. (-126° F.). Inside the low, insulated buildings the twelve-man crew was comfortable enough, warmed by the waste heat from the main diesel generator. "But at this temperature," explained Base Chief Vasily Sidorov, "diesel fuel becomes a sticky mass, antifreeze crystallizes and metals get brittle. So it was not perhaps surprising that our main diesel cracked its bedplate...
...little heat and electricity. But soon the terrible cold outside struck into the dim-lit quarters. Burning diesel oil in improvised stoves was out of the question. Used in this inefficient way, the supply would not have lasted until help arrived. The best-and probably the only-chance for Vostok was to get the main diesel running again so its generous heat could beat back the cold...