Tragically, space travel has claimed its share of lives over the years, with some disasters leaving the world in shock.
One of the most heartbreaking occurred in 1967, when Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov became known as the “man who fell from space”.
Circling the Earth 16 times
Space exploration has always carried enormous risks, and few stories are as chilling as that of Vladimir Komarov, the first human to die during a space mission.
Known as “the man who fell from space,” Komarov’s final journey aboard Soyuz 1 ended in tragedy on April 24, 1967.
The mission, the first crewed flight of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, was plagued with problems from the start.
But on April 23, 1967, Komarov launched into orbit, circling the Earth 16 times over 24 hours. Soon after reaching space, one of the two solar panels failed to deploy, cutting the spacecraft’s power and preventing him from completing the mission.
Back on Earth, Soviet mission control decided Komarov should return, but re-entry proved to be fatal. During his descent, the main parachute meant to slow the capsule’s fall failed to deploy, and the backup became entangled with the defective main chute.
