“Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” When Neil Armstrong said this, he probably did not know how befitting his words were. The desire to solve the mystery that is Space, several space programs have been launched from all over the world in the last century, including countries like America, Russia, India, and so many others. However, not every mission proves a success. There are ’n’ number of disasters and failed missions that have resulted in billions of dollars lost as well as valuable lives of astronauts and cosmonauts that were brave enough to risk their life and explore the land of unknown to educate the mankind.
Listed below are ten of the most famous and disastrous space missions that did not result in triumphs.
The Hubble Space Telescope
Ever since NASA was established over half a century ago, they have launched several space missions that have been ornamental in everything mankind knows about the universe beyond the surface of the earth. While there is a long list of successful endeavors under its belt, there are many that failed to trespass the sanctity of space. One of those missions was the Hubble Space Telescope. For those who do not know, this particular telescope allows astronomers to look into the universe without any interference from the atmosphere. While the Hubble works perfectly now, first it had a vision problem. There was a problem in the camera lens and its grinding process. The engineers had to add a corrective lens to compensate for the minuscule change the lens undergoes when it moved into a 0 gravity atmosphere.
Voskhod 2
Most science nerds remember or know of Voskhod 2. After all, it was not only famous for being the first-ever mission to complete the spacewalk or Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) successfully but also for its catastrophic reentry and retrieval. It was a Russian program launched successfully from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (located in Kazakhstan) on March 19, 1965, carrying Alexey Leonov and Pavel Belyayev. After the cosmonauts completed their 12-minute spacewalk, they started the process of automatic reentry that failed after which they had to land the aircraft manually, far north from the landing site. It was after 4 hours that a helicopter stopped them in the North Ural forest chopping wood and making a campfire. They had to spend 2 nights in the forest before they were retrieved and able to return to the General Secretary to announce their mission successfully.
Apollo 1
Apollo 1 marked the first fatal accident in the past of the United States space flight. It occurred on 27 January 1967 while the preparation for the first manned space mission was ongoing. At around 1 PM, the entire crew (of 3) started rehearsing the countdown sequence where they started experiencing problems immediately. These issues included strange odor indie the spacesuit, technical difficulties. however, 10 minutes before the stimulated countdown, a fire was reported in the cockpit. Only after 17 minutes of the fire, all the three members of the crew were dead due to carbon monoxide asphyxia. Their bodies were also covered with third-degree burns, which were however not the reason for their death.
X-15 Flight 3-65-97
The first failed space mission in this list is X-15 Flight 3-65-97 or X-15 Flight 191 (as it was the 191st flight of the experimental aircraft). It was a test flight that took place on the 15th of November, 1967 with a one-man crew of pilot Micheal J. Adams. The North American X-15 experimental aircraft was designed to conduct high-altitude research. This particular mission was the pilot’s seventh flight, but unfortunately also his last. The aircraft broke apart just 10 minutes and 35 seconds after its launch over Randsburg, California due to technical difficulties destroying the aircraft and taking Adam’s life as well.
Soyuz 1
Just 3 months after the tragic fire of Apollo 1, Vladimir Komarov, a Russian cosmonaut became the 1st space fatality during the Soyuz 1 flight. This was the first Soviet spacecraft that aimed at reaching the moon, eventually. During the time of the crash, the space vehicle was still in its experimental stage. Soyuz 1 crashed into the earth on 24th April 1967. Nine minutes after the launch, just as it entered the orbit, problems began. Due to difficulties with the solar panel, the power supply was cut off, which interfered with the craft’s controls. Colonel Vladimir, however, was unable to escape and succumbed to death as the spacecraft crashed in southeastern Russia.
Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11, best known as the first mission to board Salyut11, the world’s first space station in April 1971, was the first and only mission that resulted in the death of humans in outer space. After a 22 day stays, the three crew members prepared to descent to earth. However, 30 minutes before landing, the aircraft left the orbit and descended for its trajectory when a critical valve blew and increases the pressure in the capsule. All the cosmonauts die in less than a minute but not peacefully. Their autopsies revealed brain hemorrhages, damaged eardrums, and subcutaneous bleeding. This all could be avoided if only they all the cosmonauts were provided with spacesuits.
Soyuz 18a
Soyuz 18a, launched on 5th April 1975, carrying 2 cosmonauts was another disaster for the Russians. 5 minutes after taking off, the aircraft started descending swiftly. The crew faced breathing difficulties and were quite close to losing their consciousness. Fortunately, the parachutes deployed correctly but the aircraft crashed with an icy Siberian mountain. While no lives were lost, it was still a backdrop for the Russian Space Center.
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
U.S and Soviet always had a space race. To end this tension, both the superpowers came together with a joint test project Apollo-Soyuz. To everyone’s surprise, the mission went flawlessly (almost!). The crews of both the spacecraft even exchanged gifts and pleasantries and spend 44 hours together. It was during the re-entry phase of the mission when a malfunction with the Reaction Control System caused poisonous gas to enter one of the cabins inhabiting the Americans. The silver lining, however, was that despite catching pneumonia, everyone recored within a few weeks.
Space Shutter Challenger
On 28 January 1986, NASA suffered one of its most devastating space disasters ever. The space shuttle Challenger, launched from Cape Canaveral, broke apart only 73 seconds and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean from 50,000 feet above the sea level. Due to the cold, the spacecraft’s rubber O-rings got damages that separated the rocket boosters. All the 7 astronauts were killed in the crash. NASA lost $5.5 billion in this mission, which equals around $11.5 billion in the present day.
Space Shutter Columbia
On January 16, 2003, from the Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Columbia lifted off carrying 7 astronauts including Kalpana Chawla, the first women belonging to India to go to space. While their 16-day stay flew by quickly, it was during their descent, just 16 minutes from the space center, that the shuttle disintegrated killing all 7 astronauts. It was later found out during an investigation that hot gases had penetrated the left-wing of the craft because of an impact with the debris during the launch. This easily was one of the most disastrous space missions in the history of any nation as more than 80,000 debris pieces blew over eastern Texas as well as losing $13 billion in building costs.
