Exploring the nations paving the way for the future of AI
While descending, his aircraft entered a violent spin. Its design did not allow it to withstand such force, and it ultimately broke up 10 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, with Adams dying as a result.
Grissom could have drowned, were it not for a US Navy helicopter, which rescued him in time. Sadly, however, in 1967 he died amongst fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission.
See also: History's worst submarine disasters
The crew may have died, but an experiment they performed survived. A group of worms were on board the Columbia, and they amazingly withstood reentry.
But on this particular day in the mining town of Johannesburg, California, his aircraft broke apart just minutes after launch, killing Adams.
Vladimir Komarov was the first cosmonaut to go to space twice. His second time, aboard the Soyuz 1 spacecraft, ended in disaster.
Soyuz 11 was another disaster which hit the Soviet space program. The mission was launched in 1971, with cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev.
A cabin vent valve opened by accident, and all three crew members were killed. They are the only people to ever die in space.
Journeying into space is pretty dangerous stuff. Relatively few missions sent to explore space over the years have been crewed, and for good reason. The risk to human (and animal) life is always high, even as technology in this field advances rapidly.
In one of the scariest disasters in recent years, two US astronauts who were meant to spend eight days traveling to and from the International Space Station (ISS) have been stuck there for over two months. What's more, they may not be able to get home until 2025. This is due to the myriad of technical issues that have left their craft, the new Boeing Starliner capsule, unsafe to use. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were the first crew to fly the ship on its maiden voyage—an unlucky predicament, as it turns out. The mission launch occurred on June 5, 2024, and the Starliner made it to the ISS safely. However, several technical issues came to light that made it impossible for Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth on the scheduled date. What was supposed to be eight days stretched into eight weeks as Boeing and NASA attempted to resolve the issues. In July, Boeing revealed that four of Starliner's jet fuels had failed, the thrusters were malfunctioning, and there were helium leaks.
The astronauts have been at the ISS for over 180 days, and the Starliner has already returned to Earth without them due to safety concerns. A SpaceX Crew Dragon flight is now scheduled to bring them back to Earth in February.
While the world waits to see when and how these astronauts will make it back to Earth, let's look back at some of the worst disasters in the history of space travel to remember what is at stake.
The worst disasters to occur in space
Space exploration is fraught with danger
LIFESTYLE Space travel
Journeying into space is pretty dangerous stuff. Relatively few missions sent to explore space over the years have been crewed, and for good reason. The risk to human (and animal) life is always high, even as technology in this field advances rapidly.
In one of the scariest disasters in recent years, two US astronauts who were meant to spend eight days traveling to and from the International Space Station (ISS) have been stuck there for over two months. What's more, they may not be able to get home until 2025. This is due to the myriad of technical issues that have left their craft, the new Boeing Starliner capsule, unsafe to use. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were the first crew to fly the ship on its maiden voyage—an unlucky predicament, as it turns out. The mission launch occurred on June 5, 2024, and the Starliner made it to the ISS safely. However, several technical issues came to light that made it impossible for Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth on the scheduled date. What was supposed to be eight days stretched into eight weeks as Boeing and NASA attempted to resolve the issues. In July, Boeing revealed that four of Starliner's jet fuels had failed, the thrusters were malfunctioning, and there were helium leaks.
The astronauts have been at the ISS for over 180 days, and the Starliner has already returned to Earth without them due to safety concerns. A SpaceX Crew Dragon flight is now scheduled to bring them back to Earth in February.
While the world waits to see when and how these astronauts will make it back to Earth, let's look back at some of the worst disasters in the history of space travel to remember what is at stake.