Casualties In Our
Quest for Space
Quest for Space
Exploring space is not a safe profession.
We honor those who have lost their lives in the quest for space:
10/24/60 STILL THE WORST DISASTER IN SPACE HISTORY
250+ people dead. Baikonaur, Site 41. “Nedelin
Disaster”. R-7 rocket explodes during repair.
Destroyed launchpad still visible from outer space.
3/23/61 Valentine Bondarenko (USSR), Fire on spacecraft
simulator.
6/6/67 Ed Givens, automobile accident.
1/27/67 3 people dead. Apollo 1, fire on launchpad. Virgil ‘Gus’
Grissom, Ed. H. White ll, Roger Chaffe
4/24/67 1 dead. Soyuz 2: chute failed on re-entry and capsule
caught fire on impact. Vladimir Komarov.
7/3/69 5 people dead. N-1 rocket Launchpad explosion at
Baikonaur. Ended Soviet attempted moon landing.
6/7/71 3 people dead. Soyuz 11 (First Slayut 1), cabin sprang a
leak while approaching for re-entry. Made automatic
reentry and landing, but with no spacesuits, cosmonauts
suffocated. Georgi Dobrovolshy, Vladimir Volkov and
Viktor Patsayev.
6/26/73 7 people dead. Cosmos 3-M, Plesetsk. Explosion on
launch pad.
3/18/80 50+ people dead. Pletetsk: Vostok rocket explosion
during rocket refueling.
1/28/86 7 people dead. Challenger Space Shuttle exploded
during take-off. Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison
Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis,
Sharon Christa McAuliffe
9/7/90 1 person dead. Edwards Air Force Base: Titan rocket
fell from launch crane.
2/1/03 7 people dead. Columbia Space Shuttle disintegrated
during re-entry. Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Kalpana
Chawla (India), Laurel Clark, Mike Anderson, David
Brown, Ilan Ramon(Isreal).
9/22/03 21 people dead. Brazil’s Space Center: VLS-l rocket
explosion on launch pad.
2/23/04 6 people dead. India’s Space Center: solid rocket
engine caught fire.
Aircraft Testing Casualties In Space Programs
10/31/64 Theodore Freeman
2/28/66 Elliot Sue
2/28/66 Charles Bassett ll
5/24/66 Stephen Thorne
4/15/67 Manley Carter Jr.
10/5/67 Clifton Williams Jr.
11/15/67 Michael J. Adams
12/8/67 Robert Lawrence Jr.
3/27/68 Yuri Gagarin (USSR)
PHANTOM COSMONAUTS
Details of Soviet space program were kept secret except for the sucesses they wanted
the world to know about. Failed missions and their cosmonauts were erased from history
records. Some of them are coming to light now, but for the most part can still not be
verified. I leave the question of truth to your own opinion. The most well-known phantom
cosmonauts include:
Late 1957: Ledovsk, killed in sub-orbital flight
2/58: Shiborin, killed in sub-orbital flight
1/59: Maltkov, killed in sub-orbital flight
9/27/60: Kachur, killed in orbital flight
10/11/60: Dolgov, killed in orbital flight
11/28/60 Graciov: killed in orbital flight
2/4/61: Mikhoilov, killed in orbital flight attempt
2/20/61: Unkown male, ‘first man in space’
Began the phantom cosmonaut legend. Radio transmissions of his SOS from
space were supposedly picked up around the world by amateur radio
operators. They report listening to his heartbeat and breathing until he
drifted out of orbit. They report he died of heart failure in space.
4/7/61: Ilyushin: first man to orbit earth and return, crashed in China.
5/23/61: Ludmilla, killed in orbital flight
9/20/61: Kachur, killed in orbital flight
12/61: Graciov, killed in orbital flight
5/15/62: Belokonyov, killed in orbital flight
We honor those who have lost their lives in the quest for space:
10/24/60 STILL THE WORST DISASTER IN SPACE HISTORY
250+ people dead. Baikonaur, Site 41. “Nedelin
Disaster”. R-7 rocket explodes during repair.
Destroyed launchpad still visible from outer space.
3/23/61 Valentine Bondarenko (USSR), Fire on spacecraft
simulator.
6/6/67 Ed Givens, automobile accident.
1/27/67 3 people dead. Apollo 1, fire on launchpad. Virgil ‘Gus’
Grissom, Ed. H. White ll, Roger Chaffe
4/24/67 1 dead. Soyuz 2: chute failed on re-entry and capsule
caught fire on impact. Vladimir Komarov.
7/3/69 5 people dead. N-1 rocket Launchpad explosion at
Baikonaur. Ended Soviet attempted moon landing.
6/7/71 3 people dead. Soyuz 11 (First Slayut 1), cabin sprang a
leak while approaching for re-entry. Made automatic
reentry and landing, but with no spacesuits, cosmonauts
suffocated. Georgi Dobrovolshy, Vladimir Volkov and
Viktor Patsayev.
6/26/73 7 people dead. Cosmos 3-M, Plesetsk. Explosion on
launch pad.
3/18/80 50+ people dead. Pletetsk: Vostok rocket explosion
during rocket refueling.
1/28/86 7 people dead. Challenger Space Shuttle exploded
during take-off. Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison
Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis,
Sharon Christa McAuliffe
9/7/90 1 person dead. Edwards Air Force Base: Titan rocket
fell from launch crane.
2/1/03 7 people dead. Columbia Space Shuttle disintegrated
during re-entry. Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Kalpana
Chawla (India), Laurel Clark, Mike Anderson, David
Brown, Ilan Ramon(Isreal).
9/22/03 21 people dead. Brazil’s Space Center: VLS-l rocket
explosion on launch pad.
2/23/04 6 people dead. India’s Space Center: solid rocket
engine caught fire.
Aircraft Testing Casualties In Space Programs
10/31/64 Theodore Freeman
2/28/66 Elliot Sue
2/28/66 Charles Bassett ll
5/24/66 Stephen Thorne
4/15/67 Manley Carter Jr.
10/5/67 Clifton Williams Jr.
11/15/67 Michael J. Adams
12/8/67 Robert Lawrence Jr.
3/27/68 Yuri Gagarin (USSR)
PHANTOM COSMONAUTS
Details of Soviet space program were kept secret except for the sucesses they wanted
the world to know about. Failed missions and their cosmonauts were erased from history
records. Some of them are coming to light now, but for the most part can still not be
verified. I leave the question of truth to your own opinion. The most well-known phantom
cosmonauts include:
Late 1957: Ledovsk, killed in sub-orbital flight
2/58: Shiborin, killed in sub-orbital flight
1/59: Maltkov, killed in sub-orbital flight
9/27/60: Kachur, killed in orbital flight
10/11/60: Dolgov, killed in orbital flight
11/28/60 Graciov: killed in orbital flight
2/4/61: Mikhoilov, killed in orbital flight attempt
2/20/61: Unkown male, ‘first man in space’
Began the phantom cosmonaut legend. Radio transmissions of his SOS from
space were supposedly picked up around the world by amateur radio
operators. They report listening to his heartbeat and breathing until he
drifted out of orbit. They report he died of heart failure in space.
4/7/61: Ilyushin: first man to orbit earth and return, crashed in China.
5/23/61: Ludmilla, killed in orbital flight
9/20/61: Kachur, killed in orbital flight
12/61: Graciov, killed in orbital flight
5/15/62: Belokonyov, killed in orbital flight
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