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The crew of Soyuz 11 were killed after undocking from space station Salyut 1 after a three-week stay. Spaceflight fatalities above the Kármán line Date As of 2022, there have been over 188 fatalities in incidents regarding spaceflight.Īstronauts Memorial Plaque at Cape Canaveral (2015) The Fallen Astronaut memorial on the Moon includes the names of most of the known astronauts and cosmonauts who were killed before 1971 Astronaut fatalities There have also been some non-astronaut fatalities during spaceflight-related activities. Astronauts have also died while training for space missions, such as the Apollo 1 launch pad fire that killed an entire crew of three. Īs of 2023, there have been 15 astronaut and 4 cosmonaut fatalities during spaceflight that either crossed, or was intended to cross, the boundary of space as defined by the United States (50 miles above sea level). Also not included are alleged unreported Soviet space accidents, which are considered fringe theories by a majority of historians.
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Not included are accidents or incidents associated with intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, fatality or injury to test animals, uncrewed space flights not resulting in human fatality or serious injury, or Soviet or German rocket-powered aircraft projects of World War II. This article lists verifiable spaceflight-related accidents and incidents resulting in human fatality or near-fatality during flight or training for crewed space missions, and testing, assembly, preparation or flight of crewed and robotic spacecraft. Space Shuttle Challenger breaks up during its 1986 launch resulting in the death of all seven crew members. For death in specifically outer space conditions, see Space exposure.
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