The life of an astronaut is a dream come true story. But it is the most dangerous profession of them all. A little bit of miscalculation or misjudgment and an astronaut would be lost in the darkness of the vast Universe.
Today, we are going to tell you about the top ten astronaut accidents that shook the world and increase the respect for the brave hearts who dare to go on space missions.
10. Apollo 13 (1970)
Fortunately, no astronauts lost their lives in this tragic incident. Apollo 13 apparently became non-functional when its tank containing liquid oxygen went into flames and exploded. There were three astronauts on board who moved into a lunar module. This is the best heroic deed in the space mission and apart from those astronauts, the credit goes to a young engineer who gave the instructions from the Earth.
9. Luca Parmitano (2013)
Luca Parmitano is an Italian astronaut who survived a near-death accident. It is also one of the heroic deeds from the brave heart astronauts. During a spacewalk, he noticed water flowing through his helmet. It initially scared him because it could never happen in the outer space. The water kept pouring and he could hardly breathe. By using his memory and willpower, he made his way back to his fellow crew members on board who rescued him by removing the water. Later it was found that the water had gathered due to the malfunctioning of the cooling system in the helmet.
8. Apollo 12 (1969)
A few seconds after Apollo 12 was launched, lighting struck the space shuttle and it disabled half of the electronic system. A few seconds later, another lightning struck and the complete electronics system went bizarre. The young engineer who saved Apollo 13 once again came to their rescue and he instructed them how to get back the control of electronics system.
7. Chamber Of Silence (1961)
During a common simulation test, an astronaut died a tragic death for a little mistake. He was kept in the Chamber of Silence which represented a Russian space shuttle and it was full of oxygen. After successfully completing the session, he used alcohol to remove the adhesive sensors from his body. He threw the alcohol soaked pad in one hotplate and it caught fire. As the room was full of oxygen, it burst into flames set the astronaut on fire.
6. X-15 Flight 191 (1967)
1967 was a tragic year for space missions. As many as three tragedies took place killed skilled astronauts. X-15 Flight 191 faced electrical and control problems and excessive spinning led to the disintegration of the space shuttle killing Michael J. Adams.
5. Soyuz 1 (1967)
A new type of space shuttle was discovered and was tested for a one-day mission. But there were so many faults in the spacecraft that the onboard astronaut Vladimir Komarov died in a tragic accident when the shuttle hit the landing ground at a very high speed. It happened because the parachute did not open in due time.
4. Soyuz 11 (1971)
Three astronauts died in this tragic accident when the shuttle undocked itself from the space station. Those three astronauts completed their mission on space for three long weeks and were about to return. It is one of those accidents that took place in space.
3. Apollo 1 (1967)
Three astronauts were killed due to a flash fire igniting inside the Apollo 1 during the launch-pad test. The three astronauts were Virgil Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. NASA abandoned a couple of space missions due to this tragedy and prepared shuttles with better protection and insulation.
2. Challenger (1986)
One of the most tragic accidents that happened within a minute after the Challenger shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Seven crew members died a tragic death and investigation showed that the cold weather condition jammed the O-rings and the vehicle disintegrated.
1. Columbia (2003)
This is the worst accident of the astronauts in the history. It killed as many as seven astronauts. During the launch of the Columbia shuttle, its left wing was stuck by the fuel tank insulation foam creating a hole. During its reentry on the Earth’s surface, combustible gasses penetrated through the hole and set the shuttle on fire and ultimately crashing during landing.