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Description: Today, spaceflights are relatively safe, but this safety comes at a high price. The list of astronauts lost in space missions is not too long, but each disaster shocked the public, calling for major improvement in future safety regulations.
Today, the space accident rate is very low, and the launches are generally safe. With a few rare exceptions of astronauts getting delayed on the ISS now and then, most missions go without a hinge. However, this wasn’t always the case in the early days of manned spaceflight, and several people have lost their lives in space missions, sometimes even before, when they were only preparing for launch. Tragic as those deaths were, the sacrifice was not in vain because, in the long run, it helped move aerospace science further. In this post, we will tell you about the most horrible disasters in the history of manned spaceflight, honouring astronauts lost in space forever because even if their lives were lost, these courageous people should not be forgotten.
Astronauts lost in space forever: accident history
When asked, what was the biggest disaster in space history? Most people would name Shuttle crashes, and a few more informed ones would recall an Apollo launch site fire. However, the USA is not the only country actively investing in space exploration — back in the 20th century, the currently non-existent USSR was a major, if not the dominant player. Here is a more detailed list that includes both countries:
● Apollo-1 in January 1967 was the first accident that claimed astronauts’ lives. As the crew of three people was preparing the vehicle for launch, the fire broke out, sealing the pressurised doors and killing the crew.
● Soyuz 1 in April 1967 is a less covered accident, but this was the first official death on a space mission. As a Soviet astronaut (or, technically, cosmonaut) was returning to Earth after successfully completing the mission, the parachute system failed, and the capsule crashed. And, even though it’s hard to tell — what was the worst death in space? This one was, without any argument, the first.
● Soyuz 11 in June 1971 was a much more gruesome tragedy that killed three cosmonauts as they were returning to Earth. On the descent, the capsule depressurised, and air leakage suffocated the entire crew. As space news resource Orbital Today explains, the USSR did not equip their astronauts with special pressurised suits at the time, but this horrible accident highlighted the need for new safety measures.
● The Challenger crash in January 1986 killed the crew of seven astronauts as the shuttle exploded less than two minutes after launch. Perhaps the most shocking thing about this accident is that it was streaming live.
● Columbia shuttle crashed on the descent in February 2003, also killing the entire crew of seven people. This tragedy was the non-official end of the Shuttle era because even though the program was officially discontinued only in 2011, no shuttle flew after the Columbia disaster.
So, based on a more detailed accident history, how many astronauts were lost in space? A quick calculation gives us 18, excluding the launch site fire. However, the actual list of spaceflight-related accidents is higher and largely depends on how you define spaceflight, i.e., if the accident occurred above the official space border, on the launch site, during a test flight, etc.
The list above includes history-making accidents because each of them led to major improvements in spaceflight safety. Cynical as it sounds, they made us learn from our mistakes and the lives lost paved the road for other people. But have we really learned our lesson? As of now, are there some astronauts stranded in space? Yes and no — so keep reading to find out.
Astronauts lost in space 2024: ISS mission delays
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As of late 2024, two astronauts who arrived on the ISS as part of their Boeing Crew Flight Test in June 2024 are still stuck on the space station. Not to bury the lead, there is absolutely no reason to worry for their safety — in fact, the mission delay was caused by advanced spaceflight safety measures we follow so carefully these days. During the test flight, a few problems were identified with the Starliner vehicle, so the scheduled 8-day stay at the station had to be prolonged.
Currently, the astronauts’ estimated return date is set to early 2025 — by this time, all Starliner malfunctions should be fixed. Neither is there any reason to worry that the extended stay will strain the regular ISS crew — the station is regularly resupplied, so neither food, water, or air will be lacking.
Notably, a few similar incidents have already taken place in the past. In 2020, a mixed crew of one NASA and one Roscosmos astronaut also got delayed on the ISS for half a year — instead of April, they could only make it back to Earth in October.
So, if you’ve been wondering, how many people have died from being lost in space? The real answer is — none. All lives are accounted for, and even though delays happen sometimes, the only 21st-century disaster that claimed human lives was the Columbia crash in 2003. And we hope it will remain this way!
Author: Emma Thorpe
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