Traveling in space is dangerous.
No possibility of life exists beyond the support functions brought from Earth.
Getting off and back onto Earth requires the use of highly volatile and dangerous materials. Space travelers are face-to-face not only with the laws of physics, but also their own mortality.
The first fatal accident occurred on January 27, 1967, relatively early in the history of manned flights.
U.S. astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee boarded Apollo 1 for a routine countdown test.
The test was not considered dangerous because the rocket was not fueled; however, poor insulation of electrical wires apparently started a fire in the capsule, which was filled with pure oxygen.
The astronauts died of smoke inhalation before the capsule was engulfed in flames.
The Soviet space program experienced its first fatality on April 23, 1967, when a Soyuz capsule’s parachute failed to operate properly.
The capsule crashed, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.
A successful mission aboard the Soviet space station Salyut 1 turned into tragedy as the Soyuz 11 spacecraft carrying three cosmonauts back to Earth malfunctioned.
A valve intended to let air in just prior to touchdown sprang open early on in the journey home. The capsule’s air was instantly sucked out into the vacuum of space, and Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Victor Patseyev were suffocated.
The fatal explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, was witnessed by millions of adults and children, who watched the launch because of its historic value.
Christa MacAuliffe, a schoolteacher, and Gregory Jarvis, a Hughes Aircraft employee, had been chosen to be the first civilians to go into space. Seconds after launch, a fire ignited and the shuttle exploded almost instantly.
Along with MacAuliffe and Jarvis, Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Ron McNair, and Judy Resnik perished in the disaster.
The first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, died on March 27, 1968, in an aircraft accident while training for a Soyuz mission.
Our gratitude to these brave men and women, and their families and friends, should never diminish.
Related Posts
-
If a body temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit is fatal, what low body temperature is generally fatal?
Medical literature contains few if any cases in which people have recovered after their inner, or core, temperatures dropped below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Core body temperature is usually measured by elec, tronic sensors…
-
What Is the Function of a Space Station and What Is the Difference Between a Space Station and a Spacecraft?
What Is the Function of a Space Station and What Is the Difference Between a Space Station and a Spacecraft? A space station is an orbiting satellite that is meant to accommodate a…
-
What are the symptoms of a black widow spider bite and what are the chances of it being fatal?
A black widow spider bite starts with a stinging pinprick at the location. Dull numbing pain soon follows, often accompanied by some swelling. Within about thirty minutes, severe stomach pains and clenching of…
-
Why Do 75% of All Fatal Auto Accidents Occur Within 25 Miles of Your Home?
The statistic that 75% of all fatal auto accidents occur within 25 miles of home is quite alarming. It does make it sound like there's a bubble of danger around your own home,…
-
Why Are Space Suits Necessary To Protect Astronauts In Space and How Were Space Suits For NASA Developed?
Space suits are required by astronauts because body fluids would boil under the natural pressure in space. Even pilots of high-flying aircraft need pressurized suits, and NASA developed space suits for the Mercury…
-
Why Did NASA Put the Hubble Space Telescope In Space and Why Do Space Telescopes Take Sharper Images?
Since telescopes were first used by Galileo in the early seventeenth century, astronomers have dreamed of placing them where Earth's atmosphere would not get in the way of viewing the universe. The Hubble…
