The Soyuz 11 Tragedy

Although both countries had their triumphs and setbacks in the Space Race, none had been as tragic as the Soyuz 11 Tragedy of 1971, which marked the first known time that humans died in space.

(Warning- graphic details below the cut)

The trip had been seen as a successful one. Three cosmonauts, Georgi Timofeyevich Dobrovolskiy, Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov, and Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev, went up in early June and for the next 23 days, performed experiments on human endurance and “prolonged weightlessness”. The trip marked the longest space flight at the time.

However, the crew experienced trouble on the flight down. Initially, all looked well, as the ship landed safely in Kazakhstan. However, when the ship was opened, the three crew members were found motionless, with blood coming from their ears and noses. Although doctors on the ground tried to revive them, it had been too late.

Although there were multiple theories as to what happened, but ultimately, it was determined that on the flight down, an air vent malfunctioned “during the separation of the orbital and descent modules and that all three men had been dead for over half an hour” before landing. “Moreover, for at least 11 minutes of this time, they had been exposed to vacuum. ” As a result, all three cosmonauts experienced severe brain damage and lack of oxygen. It was also revealed that the three crew members were not wearing proper spacesuits that might have saved them during landing. Future Apollo-Soyuz member Alexi Leonov said that he advised the crew of Soyuz 11 that the air vents would need to be closed and opened at different points during landing, but that the crew did not heed his advice.

The Soviet Union marked a period of national mourning. All three cosmonauts were given state funerals and burials, as they were cremated and interred in the Kremlin Wall. The United States mourned the loss as well, with President Nixon sending condolences to Soviet leaders. The president also sent Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford to serve as representative for the country, and he also served as a pall-bearer for one of the urns. The future Apollo-Soyuz member had been initially going to Belgrade to give a speech at the International Aeronautical Federation Conference, and was concerned about what had happened, since at the time he was helping to improve human endurance in Skylab.

Despite the tragedy, the Soviet Union remained committed to space exploration, and swore to return to space. However, there would need to be changes made so that it couldn’t happen again.

(Information courtesy of NASA https://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-4209/ch5-6.htm, The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/02/archives/russians-mourn-soyuz-11-astronauts-3-deaths-still-unexplained.html, and Space Safety Magazine http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-disasters/soyuz-11/crew-home-misfortunes-soyuz-11/ )