Three Soviet Cosmonauts Died Returning From Space

On June 30, 1971, the crew of Soyuz 11 undocked from Salyut 1, the world’s first space station, after a record-setting 22 days in orbit. Cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev were minutes from a routine landing in Kazakhstan.

As the descent module separated from the rest of the craft, the shock jarred open a pressure-equalization valve meant to open only later, near the ground. Instead it opened to the vacuum of space, and the cabin’s air drained away in under a minute. The men were not wearing pressure suits, and there was nothing they could do.

When recovery teams opened the hatch, all three cosmonauts were dead in their seats.

They remain the only humans to have died in space, above the Karman line. The disaster forced the Soviets to halt crewed flights and redesign the Soyuz so that crews would always wear pressure suits during launch and landing, a practice that continues today.