Men on the MoonLists about real men and women who have achieved everyone's childhood dreams to become astronauts, fly through outer space, and even walk on the freaking moon.
Since the beginning of manned space flight, 18 astronauts have died during actual missions. Given the hundreds of manned flights that have been attempted, it's amazing that so few astronauts and cosmonauts have died in space. Every precaution is taken when launching a mission with a human crew, but mistakes do happen - and can have devastating consequences.
Most space flight deaths take place either during the launch phase or re-entry. This is the most dangerous time, when huge amounts of fuel are burned, or a craft comes back into the atmosphere. The two worst disasters in space flight history, the destruction of the Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia, both took place in these critical times - leading to most of the astronauts who died in space on this list.
Here are all 18 of the people who died in space - the deaths that have occurred on manned space missions.
Died on April 24, 1967, in the re-entry crash of Soyuz 1.
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Комаро́в, IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr mʲɪˈxaɪləvʲɪtɕ kəmɐˈrof]; 16 March 1927 – 24 April 1967) was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut. In October 1964, he commanded Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry more than one crew member. He became the first cosmonaut to fly in space twice when he was selected as the solo pilot of Soyuz 1, its first crewed test flight. A parachute failure caused his Soyuz capsule to crash into the ground after re-entry on 24 April 1967, making him the first human to die in a space flight.Komarov was one of the most highly experienced and qualified candidates accepted into the first squad of cosmonauts selected in 1960. He was declared medically unfit for training or spaceflight twice while he was in the program, but his perseverance, superior skills, and engineering knowledge allowed him to continue playing an active role. During his time at the cosmonaut training center, he contributed to space vehicle design, cosmonaut training, and evaluation and public relations.
Died on June 30, 1971. Suffocated in space with two other cosmonauts when a vent valve on Soyuz 11 opened as the craft was leaving space station Salyut 1.
Georgy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky (Russian: Гео́ргий Тимофе́евич Доброво́льский; June 1, 1928 – June 30, 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who served on the three-man crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft. They became the world's first space station crew aboard Salyut 1, but died in space due to asphyxiation due to an accidentally opened valve. They were the first and, as of 2019, the only humans to have died in space.
Died on June 30, 1971. Suffocated in space with two other cosmonauts when a vent valve on Soyuz 11 opened as the craft was leaving space station Salyut 1.
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev (Russian: Ви́ктор Ива́нович Паца́ев; 19 June 1933 – 30 June 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and was part of the second crew to die during a space flight. On board the space station Salyut 1 he operated the Orion 1 Space Observatory (see Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories), he became the first man to operate a telescope outside the Earth's atmosphere.
After a normal re-entry, the capsule was opened and the crew was found dead. It was discovered that a valve had opened just prior to leaving orbit that had allowed the capsule's atmosphere to vent away into space, suffocating the crew. One of Patsayev's hands was found to be bruised, and he may have been trying to shut the valve manually at the time he lost consciousness.
Patsayev's ashes were interned in the Kremlin Wall on Red Square in Moscow. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR. The lunar crater Patsaev and the minor planet 1791 Patsayev are named for him.
Died on June 30, 1971. Suffocated in space with two other cosmonauts when a vent valve on Soyuz 11 opened as the craft was leaving space station Salyut 1.
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov (Russian: Владисла́в Никола́евич Во́лков; November 23, 1935 – June 30, 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally.
Died in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) was an American engineer who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as payload specialist for Hughes Aircraft.
Died in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
Sharon Christa McAuliffe (née Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, and one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
She received her bachelor's degree in education and history from Framingham State College in 1970 and also a master's degree in education, supervision and administration from Bowie State University in 1978. She took a teaching position as a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire in 1983.
In 1985, she was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to participate in the NASA Teacher in Space Project and was scheduled to become the first teacher in space. As a member of mission STS-51-L, she was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28, 1986, the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. After her death, schools and scholarships were named in her honor, and in 2004 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
