Uncovering the Tragic History of Space Exploration: A Look at NASA’s Fatal Missions
NASA has taken home a lot of wins over the decades, but its losses are a stark reminder of the risks astronauts shoulder in the name of science. Exactly 20 people have died during space missions since 1961, including the 14 who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003. Comprising of 135 missions with 852 fliers, the Space Shuttle Era ran between 1981 and 2011 and helped construct the International Space Station as well as conduct other important science. With the dawn of space tourism upon us, it can be easy to forget the risks that each flier takes on in their trip to the stars.
Soyuz 1: A Tragic History of Parachute Failure
Aboard the Soyuz 1 – the Soviets’ first spacecraft hoped to eventually reach the Moon – Vladimir Komarov made history as the first person to enter outer space twice. It was on his reentry to Earth that Komarov encountered issues with the design of his spacecraft and became the first-ever fatality in spaceflight. The Soyuz 1 was to orbit Earth and then have a rendezvous with Soyuz 2 before the pair would match their orbital velocities to test docking two spacecraft together. But one of the solar panels on Soyuz 1 had not deployed, limiting the power to the spacecraft dramatically – the same fatal flaw suffered by the US’ Peregrine Moon lander. Soyuz 1 crashed into Earth on April 24, 1967, killing cosmonaut Komarov.
Apollo 1: The Devastating Consequences of a Gas Leak
A gas leak aboard the Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967, led to the deaths of Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee – NASA’s first space-related deaths. Apollo 1 was set to be the first piloted Apollo flight, but things went horribly wrong during a pre-launch test when a fire swept through the command module. The crew undertook the same procedures they would do on launch day, which was scheduled for February 21. Three hatches of the capsule were closed and pressurized with pure oxygen, slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. Within seconds, the heat and pressures caused the command module pressure vessel to crack, releasing flames and smoke onto the launch pad.
Challenger Space Shuttle: A Tragedy in the Sky
For the 25th Space Shuttle mission, seven people prepared for a fresh Challenger flight on January 28, 1986. One crew member was a teacher, plucked from a school in New Hampshire, US. But all seven astronauts died tragically when the Challenger exploded in the sky just 73 seconds into the flight. The explosion occurred after a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters ignited the main liquid fuel tank. Debris showered across southeastern Texas all the way to southern Louisiana, and the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy is the subject of a limited docuseries on the BBC.