Called Soyuz 1, it was meant to be a design prelude for the rockets that would carry Soviet cosmonauts to the moon. In 1967, the Soviet Union launched its first Soyuz spacecraft. Unfortunately, this rush led to some drastic oversights in technology, especially in the Soviet Union, where there was little to no independent oversight. The two countries rushed to develop the necessary technology required for humans to land on the surface of the moon. The United States defined the end goal of the space race: whoever landed humans on the moon first. The United States was far behind the Soviet Union in terms of human spaceflight, yet it didn’t take long for them to catch up. Four years after the launch of Sputnik, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to break the bonds of Earth’s gravity and enter into orbit around Earth. The Soviet Union started the space race by launching the first satellite in 1957, called Sputnik. The Columbia: In 2003, although everyone knew about the damaged left wing of the shuttle, it still fell apart after entering Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.ġ961: Soyuz 1 Accident Soviet Union Stamp Depicting Vladimir Komarov of the Soyuz 1 Space Missionĭuring the 1950s and 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a space race.The Challenger: In 1986, this shuttle broke into pieces soon after liftoff because of a malfunctioning O-ring, a part that became unstable due to low air temperature.The Soyuz 1: In 1961, with Vladimir Komarov on board, this shuttle crashed because the parachutes used for slowing down the shuttle did not deploy properly.We must understand how these events unfolded so that they may never be repeated. Those who lost their lives sacrificed everything in the name of discovery. However, there have been three major disasters in the history of spaceflight that have resulted in an irreversible loss of human life. Most rockets and shuttles launch from the Earth, reach their destinations, and safely return to the surface.

For the most part, the history of spaceflight has been relatively safe. It is a dangerous endeavor, one in which people put their lives at risk in the name of exploration.

The last nasa space shuttle launch