List of spaceflight-related
accidents and incidents
This article lists verifiable spaceflight-related
accidents and incidents resulting in fatality or near-fatality during
flight or training for manned space missions, and testing, assembly,
preparation or flight of manned and unmanned spacecraft. Not included are
accidents or incidents associated with intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) tests, unmanned space flights not resulting in
fatality or serious injury, orSoviet or German rocket-powered aircraft projects
of World War II. Also not included are alleged unreported Soviet space accidents, which are
considered fringe theories by a majority of
historians.
There have been a number of
such incidents in the history of spaceflight, in particular 18 astronaut and cosmonaut
fatalities, as of 2013.[1][2] There have been some astronaut fatalities
during training for space missions, such as the Apollo 1 launch pad fire which killed all three crew
members. There have also been some non-astronaut fatalities during
spaceflight-related activities.
Rocket failure.
(In the statistics below, "astronaut" is
applied to all space travellers to avoid the use of
"astronaut/cosmonaut".)
Astronaut fatalities during
spaceflight
The history of space exploration has had a number of incidents that
resulted in the deaths of the astronauts during a space mission. As of 2013,
in-flight accidents have killed 18 astronauts, in four separate incidents.[2]
NASA astronauts who have lost their lives in the
line of duty are memorialized at the Space Mirror Memorial at
the Kennedy Space Center Visitor
Complex in Merritt Island, Florida.
Cosmonauts who have died in the line of duty under the auspices of the Soviet
Union were generally honored by burial at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow.
It is unknown whether this remains tradition for Russia,
since the Kremlin Wall Necropolis was largely a Communist honor
and no cosmonauts have died in action since the Soviet Union broke up.
There have been four fatal in-flight accidents on
missions which were considered spaceflights under the internationally accepted definition of the term, plus one
on the ground during rehearsal of a planned flight. In each case all crew were
killed. To date, no individual member of a multi-member crew has died during a
mission or rehearsal.
There has also been an accident on a flight that
was considered a spaceflight by those involved but not under the
internationally accepted definition:
Astronaut fatalities during
spaceflight training
In addition to accidents during spaceflights, 11
astronauts have died during training.
Non-fatal
incidents during spaceflight
Apart from actual disasters, a number of missions
resulted in some very near misses and also some training accidents that nearly
resulted in deaths. In-flight near misses have included various reentry mishaps
(in particular on Soyuz 5), the sinking of the Mercury 4 capsule,
and the Voskhod 2 crew spending a night in dense forest
surrounded by wolves.
·
12 April 1961: separation failure: During the flight of Vostok 1, after retrofire, the Vostok service module
unexpectedly remained attached to the reentry module by a bundle of wires. The
two halves of the craft were supposed to separate ten seconds after retrofire.
But they did not separate until 10 minutes after retrofire, when the wire
bundle finally burned through. The spacecraft had gone through wild gyrations
at the beginning of reentry, before the wires burned through and the reentry
module settled into the proper reentry attitude.[32]
·
21 July 1961: landing capsule sank in water: After Liberty Bell 7 splashed
down in the Atlantic, the hatch malfunctioned and blew, filling the capsule
with water and almost drowning Gus Grissom, who managed to escape before it sank. Grissom
then had to deal with a spacesuit that was rapidly filling with water, but
managed to get into the helicopter's retrieval collar and was lifted to safety.[33] The spacecraft was recovered in 1999, having
settled 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) southeast of Cape Canaveral in
15,000 ft (4,600 m) of seawater. An unexploded SOFAR bomb designed for sound fixing and ranging in case
the craft sank had failed, and had to be dealt with when it was recovered in
from the ocean floor in 1999.[34]
·
18 March 1965: spacesuit or airlock design fault: Voskhod 2 featured the world's first spacewalk, by Alexei Leonov. After his twelve minutes outside, Leonov's
spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum to the point where he could not reenter
the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit's pressure to bleed
off, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule after suffering side
effects of the bends. Because the
spacecraft was so cramped, the crew could not keep to their reentry schedule
and landed 386 km off course in deep forest. They had to spend a night in
their capsule due to the danger of bears and wolves.
·
12 December 1965: engine shutdown at launch: Gemini 6A the first on-pad shutdown in the US Manned
Program. Gemini 7 orbiting 185 miles directly over Missile Row witnessed the
event and reported they could clearly see the momentary exhaust plume before
shutdown.[35]
·
17 March 1966: equipment failure: Gemini 8: A maneuvering thruster refused to shut down and put
their capsule into an uncontrolled spin.[36]
·
18 January 1969: separation failure: Soyuz 5 had a harrowing reentry and landing when the
capsule's service module initially refused to separate, causing the spacecraft
to begin reentry faced the wrong way. The service module broke away before the
capsule would have been destroyed, and so it made a rough but survivable
landing far off course in the Ural mountains.
·
1969 Nov 14: Struck twice by lightning during launch:
Astronauts Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, and Dick Gordon experienced two lightning
strikes during the launch of Apollo 12. The first strike, at 36 seconds after liftoff,
knocked the three fuel cells offline and the craft switched to battery power
automatically. The second strike, at 52 seconds after liftoff, knocked the
onboard guidance platform offline. Four temperature sensors on the outside of
the Lunar Module were burnt out and four measuring devices in the reaction
control system failed temporarily. Fuel cell power was restored about four
minutes later. The astronauts spent additional time in earth orbit to make sure
the spacecraft was functional before firing their S-IVB third stage engine and
departing for the moon.[37][38]
·
1969 Nov 24: Struck by camera during splashdown: Astronaut
Alan Bean was struck above the right eyebrow by a 16mm movie camera when the Apollo 12 spacecraftsplashed down in
the ocean. The camera broke free from its stowage place. Bean suffered a concussion[citation needed],
and a 1.25 cm cut above the eyebrow that required stitches.[39]
·
1970 Apr 11: Premature engine shutdown: During the launch of Apollo 13, its Saturn V second stage suffered a premature shut
down on one of its five engines. The center engine shut down two minutes early.
The remaining engines on the second and third stages were burned a total of 34
seconds longer. It was later determined that the shut down was caused by pogo oscillation of the engine. Had the pogo oscillation continued, it could have torn the Saturn
V apart.[40][41][42]
·
13 April 1970: equipment failure: In the most celebrated
"near miss," the Apollo 13 crew came home safely after
a violent rupture of a liquid oxygen tank[43] deprived the Service Module of its ability to
produce electrical power, crippling their spacecraft en route to the moon. They
survived the loss of use of their command ship by relying on the Lunar Module
as a "life boat" to provide life support and power for the trip home.[44]
·
1971 Aug 7: One of three main parachutes failed: During
descent, the three main parachutes of Apollo 15 opened successfully. However, when the
remaining reaction control system fuel was jettisoned, one parachute was
damaged by the discarded fuel causing it to collapse. The Apollo 15 and its
crew still splashed down safely,
at a slightly higher than normal velocity, on the two remaining main
parachutes. If a second parachute had failed, the spacecraft would probably
have been crushed on impact with the ocean, according to a NASA official.[45]
·
5 April 1975: separation failure: The Soyuz 18a mission nearly ended in disaster when the
rocket suffered a second-stage separation failure during launch. This also
interrupted the craft's attitude, causing the vehicle to accelerate towards the
Earth and triggering an emergency reentry sequence. Due to the downward
acceleration, the crew experienced an acceleration of 21.3 g rather
than the nominal 15 g for an abort. Upon landing, the vehicle
rolled down a hill and stopped just short of a high cliff. The crew survived,
but Lazarev, the mission commander, suffered internal injuries due to the
severe G-forces and was never able to fly again.
·
24 July 1975: gas poisoning on board: During final descent
and parachute deployment for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project Command
Module, the U.S. crew were exposed to 300 µL/L of toxic nitrogen tetroxide gas
(Reaction Control System oxidizer) venting from the spacecraft and
reentering a cabin air intake. A switch was left in the wrong position. 400µL/L
is fatal. Vance Brand's lost consciousness for
a short time. The crew members suffered from burning sensations of their eyes,
faces, noses, throats and lungs. Thomas Stafford quickly
broke out emergency oxygen masks and put one on Brand and gave one to Deke Slayton. The crew were exposed to the toxic gas from
24,000 ft (7.3 km) down to landing. About an hour after landing the
crew developed chemical-induced pneumonia and their lungs had edema.
They experienced shortness of breath and were hospitalized in Hawaii. The crew
spent two weeks in the hospital. By July 30, their chest X-rays appeared to
return to normal except for Slayton; he was diagnosed with a benign lesion
unrelated to the gas exposure which was later removed.[46]
·
16 October 1976: landing capsule sank in water: The Soyuz 23 capsule broke through the surface of a frozen
lake and was dragged underwater by its parachute. The crew was saved after a
very difficult rescue operation.[47]
·
12 April 1979: engine malfunction: Soyuz 33 was the ninth mission to the Salyut 6 orbiting
facility, but an engine failure forced the mission to be aborted, and the crew
had to return to earth before docking with the station. It was the first-ever
failure of a Soyuz engine during orbital operations. The two-man crew,
commander Nikolai Rukavishnikovand Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov, suffered a steep ballistic re-entry, but were
safely recovered. The original intention of the mission had been to visit the
orbiting crew for about a week and leave a fresh vehicle for the station crew
to return to earth in. The mission failure meant that the orbiting Salyut 6
crew lacked a reliable return vehicle as their Soyuz had the same suspect
engine as Soyuz 33. A subsequent manned flight was canceled and a vacant craft
with a redesigned engine was sent for the crew to use.
·
1981 Apr 12: STS-1: unexpectedly high SRB ignition
shock wave overpressure reached design limits of orbiter structure: During
the launch of STS-1, the Solid Rocket Booster ignition shock wave overpressure
was four times greater than expected (2.0 psi measured vs 0.5 psi predicted).
Some of the aft structures on Space Shuttle Columbiareached their
design limits (2.0 psi) from the overpressure. The overpressure bent four
struts that supported two RCS fuel tanks in the nose of Columbia and
the orbiter's locked body flap was pushed up and down 6 inches by the
shock wave. John Young and Robert Crippen in the crew cabin received a 3 g jolt
from the shock wave. An improved water spray shock wave damping system had to
be installed on the launch pad prior to the STS-2 launch.[48][49][50][51]
·
26 September 1983: fire in launch vehicle: A fuel spillage
before the planned liftoff caused Soyuz T-10-1 to be
engulfed in flames. The crew was narrowly saved by the activation of their
launch escape system, with the rocket exploding two seconds later.
·
1983 Dec 8: leaked hydrazine fuel fire and explosion: In the
last two minutes of the STS-9 mission, during Space Shuttle Columbia's final
approach to the Edwards AFB runway, hydrazine fuel leaked onto hot surfaces of
two of the three onboard auxiliary power units (APU)
in the aft compartment of the shuttle and caught fire. About 15 minutes after
landing, hydrazine fuel trapped in the APU control valves exploded, destroying
the valves in both APUs. The fire also damaged nearby wiring. The fire stopped
when the supply of leaked fuel was exhausted. All of this was discovered the
next day when technicians removed an access panel and discovered the area
blackened and scorched. It is believed that hydrazine leaked in orbit and
froze, stopping the leak. After returning, the leak restarted and ignited when
combined with oxygen from the atmosphere. There were no injuries during the
incident.[52][53]
·
29 July 1985: STS-51-F: Space Shuttle in-flight
engine failure: Five minutes, 45 seconds into ascent, one of three main engines aboard Challenger shut
down prematurely due to a spurious high temperature reading. At about the same
time, a second main engine almost shut down from a similar problem, but this
was observed and inhibited by a fast acting flight controller. The failed SSME resulted in an Abort To Orbit (ATO) trajectory,
whereby the shuttle achieves a lower than planned orbital altitude. Had the
second engine failed within about 20 seconds of the first, a Transatlantic
Landing (TAL) abort might have been necessary. No bailout option existed until
after mission STS-51-L, theChallenger disaster. But even with that
option, a bailout (a "contingency abort") would never be considered
when an "intact abort" option exists, and after five minutes of
normal flight it would always exist unless a serious flight control failure or
some other major problem beyond engine shutdown occurred.[54][55]
·
6 September 1988: sensor failure: At the end of Mir EP-3, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov and Afghan cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand undocked
from Mir in the spacecraft Soyuz TM-5. During descent they suffered a computer software
problem combined with a sensor problem. The deorbit engine on the TM-5
spacecraft which was to propel them into atmospheric reentry, did
not behave as expected. During an attempted burn, the computer shut off the
engines prematurely, believing the spacecraft was out of alignment.[56] Lyakhov determined that they were not, in
fact, out of alignment, and asserted that the problem was caused by conflicting
signals picked up by the alignment sensors caused by solar glare.[56] With the problem apparently solved, two orbits
later he restarted to deorbit engines. But the engines shut off again. The
flight director decided that they would have to remain in orbit an extra day (a
full revolution of the Earth), so they could determine what the problem was.
During this time it was realised that during the second attempted engine burn,
the computer had tried to execute the program which was used to dock with Mir
several months earlier during EP-2.[56]After reprogramming the computer, the next attempt
was successful, and the crew safely landed on 7 September.[57]
·
6 December 1988: STS-27: thermal tile damage: Space Shuttle Atlantis' Thermal
Protection System tiles sustained unusually severe damage during this flight.
Ablative insulating material from the right-hand solid rocket booster nose cap
had hit the orbiter about 85 seconds into the flight, as seen in footage of the
ascent. The crew made an inspection of the shuttle's impacted starboard side
using the shuttle's Canadarm robot arm, but the limited
resolution and range of the cameras made it impossible to determine the full
extent of the tile damage. Following reentry, more than 700 tiles were found to
be damaged including one that was missing entirely. STS-27 was the most heavily
damaged shuttle to return to earth safely.
·
8 April 1991: STS-37: spacesuit puncture:
During an extravehicular activity on STS-37,
a small rod (palm bar) in a glove of EV2 astronaut Jay Apt's extravehicular mobility unitpunctured
the suit. Somehow, the astronaut's hand conformed to the puncture and sealed
it, preventing any detectable depressurization. During post-flight debriefings,
Apt said after the second EVA, when he removed the gloves, his right hand index
finger had an abrasion behind the knuckle. A postflight inspection of the right
hand glove found the palm bar of the glove penetrating a restraint and glove
bladder into the index finger side of the glove. NASA found air leakage with
the bar in place was 3.8 sccm vs a specification of 8.0 sccm. They said if the
bar had come out of the hole, the leak still would not have been great enough
to activate the secondary oxygen pack. The suit would, however, have shown a
high oxygen rate indication.[58]
·
1993 Sep 12: STS-51: explosive release device
punctures cargo bay bulkhead: Aboard Space Shuttle Discovery,
during the STS-51 mission, while releasing the Advanced
Communications Technology Satellite from the payload bay, both the primary and
backup explosive release devices detonated. Only the primary device was
supposed to have detonated. Large metal bands holding the satellite in place
were ripped away, causing flying debris. The debris punctured the orbiter's
payload bay bulkhead leading to the main engine compartment, damaging wiring
trays and payload bay thermal insulation blankets. The puncture in the bulkhead
was 3 mm by 13 mm in size. The crew was uninjured and the damage was
not great enough to endanger the shuttle. The satellite was undamaged.[59]
·
18 May 1995: eye injury from Mir exercise equipment: While
exercising on the Mir EO-18/NASA 1/Soyuz TM-21 mission, astronaut Norman E. Thagard suffered an eye injury. He was using an
exercise device, doing deep knee bends, with elastic straps. One of the straps
slipped off of his foot, flew up, and hit him in the eye. Later, even a small
amount of light caused pain in his eye. He said using the eye was, "like
looking at the world through gauze." An ophthalmologist at Mission
Control-Moscow prescribed steroid drops and the eye healed.[60]
·
23 February 1997: fire on board: There was a fire on board
the Mir space station when a lithium perchlorate canister
used to generate oxygen leaked. The fire was extinguished after about 90
seconds, but smoke did not clear for several minutes.
·
25 June 1997: collision in space: At Mir, during
a re-docking test with the Progress M-34 cargo freighter, the Progress freighter
collided with the Spektr module and solar arrays of the
Mir space station. This damaged the solar arrays and the collision punctured a
hole in the Spektr module and the space station began depressurizing. The
onboard crew of two Russians and one visiting NASA astronaut were able to close
off the Spektr module from the rest of Mir after quickly cutting cables and
hoses blocking the hatch closure.
·
23 July 1999: STS-93: main engine electrical
short and hydrogen leak: Five seconds after liftoff, an electrical short
knocked out controllers for two shuttle main engines. The engines automatically
switched to their backup controllers. Had a further short shut down two
engines, Columbia would have ditched in the ocean, although
the crew could have possibly bailed out. Concurrently a pin came loose inside
one engine and ruptured a cooling line, allowing a hydrogen fuel leak. This
caused premature fuel exhaustion, but the vehicle safely achieved a slightly
lower orbit. Had the failure propagated further, a risky transatlantic or RTLS
abort would have been required.
·
2001 Feb 10: STS-98 / ISS - toxic ammonia leak
during EVA: During EVA 1 on the STS-98 mission, NASA astronauts Robert L. Curbeam and Thomas D. Jones were connecting cooling lines on the
International Space Station while working to install the Destiny Laboratory Module.
A defective quick-disconnect valve allowed 5% of the ammonia cooling supply to
escape into space. The escaping ammonia froze on the spacesuit of astronaut
Curbeam as he struggled to close the valve. His helmet and suit were coated in
toxic ammonia crystals an inch thick. Mission Control instructed Curbeam to
remain outside for an entire orbit to allow the Sun to evaporate the frozen
ammonia from his spacesuit. When they returned to the airlock, the astronauts
pressurized, vented and then repressurized the air lock to purge any remaining
toxic ammonia. After they removed their spacesuits, the crew wore oxygen masks
for another 20 minutes to allow life-support systems in the airlock to further
filter the air. No injuries resulted from the incident.[61]
·
3 May 2003: ballistic reentry, injured shoulder: The Soyuz TMA-1 capsule had a malfunction during its return
to Earth from the ISS Expedition 6 mission and performed a
ballistic reentry. The crew was subjected to about 8 to 9 G's during reentry. The
capsule landed 500 km from the intended landing target. In addition, after
landing the capsule was dragged about 15 meters by its parachute and ended up
on its side in a hard landing. Astronaut Don Pettit injured his shoulder and was placed on a
stretcher in a rescue helicopter and did not take part in post-landing
ceremonies.[62][63][64]
·
2004 Sep 29: 29 unplanned rolls during ascent: While
piloting SpaceShipOne on suborbital flight 16P, the first of two
flights that won the X-Prize for exceeding 100 km in
altitude, astronaut Mike Melvill experienced 29 unplanned
rolls during and after powered ascent. The rolls began at 50 seconds into the
engine burn. The burn was stopped 11 seconds early after burning a total of 76
seconds. After engine cutoff, the craft continued rolling while coasting to
apogee. The roll was finally brought under control after apogee using the
crafts reaction jets. SpaceShipOne landed safely and Mike Melvill was
uninjured.[65][66]
·
19 April 2008: Soyuz TMA-11 suffered a reentry
mishap similar to that suffered by Soyuz 5 in 1969. The service module failed
to completely separate from the reentry vehicle and caused it to face the wrong
way during the early portion of aerobraking. As with Soyuz 5, the service
module eventually separated and the reentry vehicle completed a rough but
survivable landing. Following the Russian news agency Interfax's report, this was widely reported as life-threatening[67][68] while NASA urged
caution pending an investigation of the vehicle.[69] South Korean astronaut Yi So-Yeon was hospitalized after her return to South
Korea due to injuries caused by the rough return voyage in the Soyuz TMA-11
spacecraft. The South Korean Science Ministry said that the astronaut had a
minor injury to her neck muscles and had bruised her spinal column.[70]
·
16 July 2013: aborted spacewalk after water leak in suit: During
EVA-23 of Expedition 36 to the International
Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano reported that water was steadily leaking
into his helmet. Flight controllers elected to abort the EVA immediately, and
Parmitano made his way back to the Questairlock, followed by fellow astronaut Chris Cassidy. The airlock began repressurizing after a 1 hour
and 32 minute spacewalk, and by this time Parmitano was having difficulty
seeing, hearing, and speaking due to the amount of water in his suit. After
repressurization, Expedition 36 commander Pavel Vinogradov and crewmembers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Karen Nyberg quickly removed Parmitano's helmet and
soaked up the water with towels. Despite the incident, Parmitano was reported
to be in good spirits and suffered no injury. The investigation into the cause
of the leak is still ongoing as of July 18.[71][72][73]
Fatalities caused by rocket
explosions
Other non-astronaut fatalities
Notes
1. Harwood (2005).
2. Musgrave, Larsen, Tommaso (2009), p. 143.
3. Coleman, Fred (1967-04-24). "Soviet Cosmonaut Dies in Spacecraft". The Owosso Argus-Press (Owosso, Michigan). American Press. p. 1.
4. "Google Maps - Soyuz 1 Crash Site - Memorial Monument Location". Retrieved2010-12-25.
5. "Google Maps - Soyuz 1 Crash Site - Memorial Monument Photo". Retrieved2010-12-25.
6. "Google Maps - Soyuz 1 Crash Site - Memorial Monument Photo closeup". Retrieved2010-12-25.
7. Butler, Sue (1971-07-01). "What Happened Aboard Soyuz 11? Reentry Strain Too Much?". Daytona Beach Morning Journal (Daytona Beach, Florida). p. 43.
8. Reuters (1973-11-03). "Space deaths detailed". The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan). p. 9.
9. "Google Maps - Soyuz 11 Landing Site - Monument Location". Retrieved 2010-12-25.
10. "Google Maps - Soyuz 11 Landing Site - Monument Photo". Retrieved 2010-12-25.
11. "Google Maps - Soyuz 11 Landing Site - Monument Photo closeup". Retrieved2010-12-25.
12. "Flight From Triumph to Tragedy Kills Challenger's 'Seven Heroes'", Palm Beach, FL Post newspaper, January 29, 1986.
13. "Shuttle explodes; crew lost", Frederick, OK - Daily Leader newspaper, January 28, 1986.
14. "Space Shuttle debris rains across Texas", Ocala, FL Star Banner newspaper, February 2, 2003.
15. Check-Six.com - The Crash of X-15A-3
16. "Pilot Killed As X-15 Falls From Altitude Of 50 Miles", Toledo Blade newspaper, November 16, 1967.
17. Associated Press (1967-11-16). "Mystery death plunge of X-15 rocket plane". The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario). p. 72.
18. Associated Press (1986-04-06). "Soviets admit cosmonaut's death". Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, North Carolina). p. 6.
19. "Crash Kills Astronaut", Richland, WA - Tri City Herald, Nov. 1, 1964
20. "Goose Hit Jet, Killing Astronaut", The Miami News, Nov. 17, 1964
21. "2 Astronauts Die In Plane Crash", The Tuscaloosa News, Feb. 28, 1966
22. "See - Bassett Backup Crew Gets Gemini", Daytona Beach, FL - Morning Journal newspaper, Mar 1, 1966
23. "One Astronaut Cried 'Fire' Before All Died", Daytona Beach, FL News-Journal Newspaper, Jan 29, 1967
24. "Williams Wanted To Be First On The Moon", St. Petersburg, FL - Evening Independent newspaper, Oct. 6, 1967
25. "Board Pinpoints Astronaut's Death", Sarasota, FL - Herald-Tribune newspaper, Jun. 7, 1968
26. "Disasters and Accidents In Manned Spaceflight, By David Shayler; pgs 84, 85",Published by Springer, 2000
27. "Air Crash Kills Astro", Nashua, NH - Telegraph newspaper, Dec. 9, 1967
28. United Press International (1968-03-29). "Spaceman Gagarin Stayed With Plane to Save Village". Montreal Gazette (Montreal). p. 2. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
29. Agence France-Presse (2011-04-08). "Russia sheds light on Gagarin death".News.com.au (Sydney, Australia). Archived from the original on 2013-03-18.
30. "Vozovikov", Encyclopedia Astronautica
31. David Shayler (June 2000). Disasters and accidents in manned spaceflight. Springer. p. 470. ISBN 1-85233-225-5.
32. American Press (1996-03-06). "Report: First Man In Space Nearly Died In The Attempt". The Durant Daily Democrat (Durant, Oklahoma).
33. Webb Jr., Alvin B. (1961-07-21). "Space Cabin Sinks After Hatch 'Blows'". The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah).
34. "The Liberty Bell 7 Recovery". Blacksburg, Virginia: UXB. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
35. CBS News video for Gemini 6A Launch Abort
36. Volker, Al (1966-03-27). "Astronaut Feared 'Break-Up'". The Miami News.
37. "Apollo Hit Twice By Lightning", Salt Lake City, Utah - Deseret newspaper, Dec 17, 1969
38. "Apollo Struck Twice By Lightning", Hopkinsville, Kentucky - New Era newspaper, Nov 22, 1969
39. "Moon Men Healthy, Resting", The Fort Scott, KS - Tribune newspaper, Nov 25, 1969
40. "Third U.S. lunar mission leaves pad without hitch", Eugene, OR - Register-Guard newspaper, Apr 11, 1970
41. "Apollo 13 on way after engine fails", The Age newspaper, Apr 13, 1970
42. "Apollo 14 Tests Wait For Month", Youngstown Vindicator newspaper, Apr 29, 1970
43. NASA's official report (REPORT OF APOLLO 13 REVIEW BOARD) does not use the word "explosion" in describing the tank failure. Rupture disks and other safety measures were present to prevent a catastrophic explosion, and analysis of pressure readings and subsequent ground-testing determined that these safety measures worked as designed.See findings 26 and 27 on page 195 (5-22) of the NASA report.
44. "Magnitude Of Apollo 13 Damage Astounded Crew", Lodi, CA News-Sentinel, Apr. 18, 1970
45. "Rocket Fuel Gets Blame In Apollo Parachute Fluke", Lumberton, NC - The Robesonian newspaper, Aug 13, 1971
46. "Brand Takes Blame For Apollo Gas Leak", Florence, AL - Times Daily newspaper, Aug. 10, 1975
47. "Cosmonauts Land in Lake, Blizzard", Milwaukee Journal newspaper, Oct 18, 1976
48. "Shock Wave Doesn't Worry Shuttle Crew", Toledo Blade newspaper, Sep 16, 1981
49. "Shuttle shock wave problem still puzzles NASA", Richland, WA - Tri-City Herald newspaper, Sep 11, 1981
50. "Shuttle's Pressure Problem Studied", Toledo Blade newspaper, Jun 27, 1981
51. "Space Shuttle Columbia Nears Second Flight", Sarasota Herald Tribune newspaper, Oct 25, 1981
52. "Fuel Devices on Space Shuttle Were on Fire During Landing", Schenectady Gazette newspaper, Dec 12, 1983
53. "Engineers Study Blaze Aboard Columbia", Ocala Star-Banner newspaper, Dec 14, 1983
54. Dumoulin (2000).
55. United Press International (1985-07-30). "Shuttle OK after close call". Record-Journal(Meriden, Connecticut). p. 1.
56. Harland (2005), pp. 173—174.
57. Furniss, Shayler, Shayler (2007), p. 355.
58. "STS-37 Space Shuttle Mission Report May 1991 - NASA-CR-193062", Extravehicular Activity Evaluation, Page 16, accessed online 4 Jan, 2011
59. "Damage suffered by space shuttle", Portsmouth, OH - Daily Times newspaper, Oct 8, 1993
60. "NASA-1 Norm Thagard: An Ending and a Beginning", NASA History.Gov website, accessed online Jan 27, 2011
61. "A Toxic Leak Haunts the Shuttle Crew", New York Times, December 16, 2006
62. "Moscow, we have a problem: our spacecraft is lost", The London Sunday Times newspaper, May 5, 2003
63. "Soyuz misses its mark but still finds Earth safely", USA Today newspaper, May 4, 2003
64. "Space crew reach Kazakh capital". The New Zealand Herald. May 6, 2003. RetrievedOctober 15, 2011.
65. "Private rocket plane goes rolling into space", The Southeast Missourian newspaper, Sep 30, 2004
66. "SpaceShipOne Rolling Rumors: Rutan Sets the Record Straight", Space.com website - posted: 02 October 2004, accessed online 4 Jan, 2011
67. Russia probes Soyuz capsule's perilous re-entry, CNN', April 23, 2008
68. Eckel, Mike, Russian news agency says Soyuz crew was in danger on descent,Associated Press, April 23, 2008 [dead link]
69. Morring, Frank, NASA Urges Caution On Soyuz Reports, Aviation Week & Space Technology, April 23, 2008
70. "South Korean Astronaut Hospitalized", Aviation Week, May 2, 2008
71. "EVA-23 terminated due to EVA-23 terminated due to Parmitano EMU issue",NASASpaceFlight, July 16, 2013
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