From time immemorial, mankind has sought to fly. Perhaps it was their most desired dream. With becoming modern civilization, people wanted not just to fly, but to reach the enchanting haze of outer space. And finally, they were able to realize the desire of mankind to go into outer space!

First cosmonaut Soviet Union was than and entered forever into world history. Preparations for the flight of the world's first man lasted a little over a year, and, behold, on April 12, 1961, this historic moment took place. They met the pilot on Earth, as befits, to meet the heroes of the fatherland. Later, Gagarin was awarded many ranks and awards. The flight into space was soon repeated by an astronaut from the United States. After that, the struggle began to launch the first woman astronaut into space.

An event of unprecedented scale was the flight of the first female Soviet cosmonaut. Her journey to the stars began with the fact that by the age of 25 she was enrolled in the ranks of astronauts and, along with other girls, was preparing for flight into orbit. During the training, the project leaders noticed the activity of Valentina Tereshkova and her diligence, as a result of which she was appointed senior in the women's group. After only 1 year of training, she went to space trip, which remained forever in the history books - the first space flight of a woman.

The Soviet Union did not just launch the first cosmonaut into orbit, but opened a new milestone in the evolution of human technology and the level of development of mankind as a whole. were the first in everything that was connected with astronautics. Our state possessed the best technologies in the field of astronautics. We were the first not only in launching astronauts. The state held the world championship in the future in the field of launching manned flights and the operation of orbital stations.

We must pay tribute to the heroes of the Soviet Union - the cosmonauts - for their courage and devotion to their dream. They marked the beginning new era humanity - space. But do not forget about those outstanding people who have invested in this business not only labor and time, but also a particle of their soul. The achievements of Russian cosmonautics are worthy of being written about in textbooks.

Boris Valentinovich Volynov (b. 1934) - Soviet cosmonaut, twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

early years

Boris Volynov was born in Irkutsk on 18.12.1934. However, soon his mother was transferred to another place of work - to the city of Prokopyevsk Kemerovo region and the whole family moved there. Until 1952, the boy studied at the regular high school, and already in early years he was inspired by the idea of ​​becoming a pilot.

No sooner said than done: after school, Volynov went to Pavlodar, to the local military aviation school. Then he continued his education at the Stalingrad (now Volgograd) military aviation school. After training, he served as a pilot in Yaroslavl, later becoming a senior pilot.

Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev (1925 - 1970) - Soviet cosmonaut number 10, Hero of the USSR.

Pavel Belyaev is also known as an athlete and participant Soviet-Japanese War 1945.

early years

Pavel Belyaev was born in the village of Chelishchevo, which today belongs to Vologda region 06/26/1925 He studied at a school in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky, after which he went to work as a turner at a factory. However, a year later he decided to devote himself to military affairs, as a result of which he entered the Yeisk Military Aviation School. So he became a pilot.

The Great Patriotic War had ended by that time (1945), but Far East there were still military operations against Japan, and the young pilot went there.

Vladimir Dzhanibekov (Krysin) (b. 05/13/1942) is a very interesting representative of the national cosmonautics.

This is a man who has made several records in space flights. Firstly, he made a record number of flights in the USSR - five. Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev flew as many as six times, but this was already after the collapse of the USSR.

Secondly, in all five of his flights he was the commander. This record has not yet been surpassed by any cosmonaut in the world, and only James Weatherby repeated it, and even then only in his sixth flight, since he was not the commander in the first. Thus, Vladimir Dzhanibekov is the most experienced Soviet cosmonaut.

Valery Kubasov (1935 - 2014) - famous Soviet cosmonaut. He is known as a space flight engineer, and also as a participant in the famous Apollo-Soyuz program, during which they docked space stations two "superpowers".

Biography

Valery Kubasov was born in the city of Vyazniki, which Vladimir region. He also went to school there. Since childhood, he dreamed of building airplanes, so after school he went to the Moscow Aviation Institute. Like many cosmonauts, Kubasov was an aviator in the early stages of his life.

Svetlana Savitskaya - test pilot, cosmonaut, Hero of the USSR (twice).

Probably everyone in the world knows who Valentina Tereshkova is. However, even after her, women continued to conquer space. Just next, after Tereshkova and the second female cosmonaut, was Svetlana Evgenievna Savitskaya.

She was a brilliant pilot, participated in two space expeditions, the first, among women, went into outer space and carried out work there, became the only woman, twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union. But first things first.

Viktor Gorbatko Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR, Major-General of Aviation.

Quite recently, on May 17, 2017, a well-known not only in Russia but also abroad pilot - cosmonaut Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko passed away.

This man participated in three space expeditions in his life, was one of the first chess players who played games between space and Earth. He is the 21st Soviet pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

Apart from huge amount Soviet awards, received awards from five countries, and for the last 16 years of his life he was the president of the Union of Philatelists of Russia.

Komarov Vladimir Mikhailovich (1927 - 1967) cosmonaut, twice Hero of the USSR, test pilot

Childhood and years of study

Vladimir Mikhailovich was born on March 16, 1927. He grew up in a poor janitor family. From an early age, he stared at the planes flying in the sky and launched kites from the roof of the house. Hometown - Moscow.

From the age of 7, he has been studying at the 235th school, which currently bears the number 2107. Having completed a seven-year course there general education in 1943, at the height of the Great Patriotic War, he made the fateful decision to become a pilot.

Made two space flight and stayed in space for 28 days and just over 17 hours.

short biography

Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov was born on November 23, 1935 in Moscow in a family, all members of which were professionally engaged in aviation. His father was a leading engineer - designer of the largest aviation enterprise, his mother worked there in design office.

It is natural that Vladislav dreamed of aviation since childhood. After graduating from Moscow school number 212 in 1953, he simultaneously entered famous MAI- the forge of Soviet aviation engineers and, in the flying club.

Classes both at the institute and at the flying club were very successful.

Popovich Pavel Romanovich - Soviet pilot-cosmonaut number 4 from the first "Gagarin" detachment, a legend of Russian cosmonautics. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

short biography

The biography of cosmonaut Popovich is not much different from the biography of his peers. Pavel Popovich was born in October 1929 in the village of Uzin. Kyiv region in Ukraine. His parents were ordinary people.

Father Roman Porfiryevich Popovich is from peasant family All his life he worked as a stoker at a local sugar factory. Mother Feodosia Kasyanovna was born into a wealthy family, but rich relatives abandoned her after her marriage, and large family Popovich had a pretty hard time.

Pavel s early childhood learned what hard work is - he had to work as a shepherd boy, to be a nanny in a strange family. hard years German occupation left an imprint on the appearance of Paul - at the age of 13 he became gray-haired. But, despite all the hardships of post-war childhood, the boy grew up very smart, inquisitive and was an excellent student.

The history of space exploration also has a tragic side. AT total during unsuccessful space flights and preparations for them, about 350 people died. In addition to astronauts, this number also includes local residents and spaceport personnel who died as a result of falling debris and explosions. In this article, we will look at five disasters where the pilots of spacecraft directly became victims. The saddest thing is that most accidents could have been avoided, but fate decreed otherwise.

Apollo 1

Death toll: 3

Official reason: spark due to short circuit in poorly insulated wiring

First in the world space disaster fatality occurred on January 27, 1967 with American astronauts during training in the command module of the Apollo 1 mission.

In 1966 in in full swing there was a lunar race between the two superpowers. Thanks to spy satellites, the United States knew about the construction of spacecraft in the USSR, which could possibly deliver Soviet cosmonauts to the moon. The development of the Apollo spacecraft, therefore, was carried out in great haste. Because of this, of course, the quality of technology also suffered. The launch of two unmanned versions, AS-201 and AS-202, was successfully launched in 1966, and the first manned flight to the Moon was scheduled for February 1967. For crew training, the command module of the Apollo spacecraft was delivered to Cape Canaverall. The problems started from the very beginning. The module was seriously flawed, and dozens of engineering adjustments were made right on the spot.

On January 27, the planned simulation training in the module was supposed to take place to test the performance of all on-board instruments of the ship. Instead of air, oxygen and nitrogen were filled into the cabin in a ratio of 60% to 40%. The training started at 1pm. It took place with constant malfunctions - there were problems with communication, and the astronauts constantly smelled of burning, as it turned out as a result - due to a short circuit in the wiring. At 18:31, one of the cosmonauts shouted over the intercom: “Fire in the cabin! I'm on fire! Fifteen seconds later, unable to withstand the pressure, the module burst. The cosmodrome employees who came running could not help - astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died on the spot from numerous burns.

Soyuz-1

Death toll: 1

Official reason: failure of the brake parachute system / flaws in the production of the spacecraft

On April 23, 1967, a grand event was scheduled - the first ever launch of a Soviet spacecraft of the Soyuz series. According to the plan, Soyuz 1 was the first to launch, piloted by Vladimir Komarov. Then it was planned to launch the Soyuz-2 spacecraft with Bykovsky, Eliseev and Khrunov on board. AT open space the ships were to dock, and Eliseev and Khrunov were to transfer to Soyuz-1. In words, everything sounded big, but from the very beginning something went wrong.

Immediately after the launch of Soyuz-1, one solar battery did not open, the ion orientation system was unstable, and the solar-stellar orientation sensor failed. The mission had to be terminated urgently. The Soyuz-2 flight was canceled and Vladimir Komarov was ordered to return to Earth. Here, too, arose serious problems. Due to the failure of the systems and the displacement of the center of mass, it was impossible to orient the ship for braking. Due to his professionalism, Komarov almost manually oriented the ship and successfully entered the atmosphere.

After the ship left orbit, a braking impulse was applied and an emergency detachment of the compartments was made. However, at the last stage of the landing of the descent vehicle, the main and reserve drogue parachutes did not open. At a speed of about 150 km / h, the descent vehicle crashed into the Earth's surface in the Adamovsky region Orenburg region and caught fire. The apparatus was completely destroyed in the collision. Vladimir Komarov died. The reason for the failure of the brake parachute system could not be established.

Soyuz-11

Death toll: 3

Official reason: premature opening of the ventilation valve and further depressurization of the cabin

1971 The USSR lost the lunar race, but in response created orbital stations, where in the future it was possible to stay for months and do research. The world's first expedition to the orbital station was successfully completed. The crew consisting of Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev stayed at the station for 23 days, however, after a serious fire at the OS, the cosmonauts were ordered to return to Earth.

At an altitude of 150 km. separation has occurred. At the same time, the ventilation valve opened involuntarily, which was supposed to open at an altitude of 2 km. The cabin began to fill with fog, which condensed due to pressure drop. After 30 seconds, the astronauts lost consciousness. After another 2 minutes, the pressure dropped to 50 mm. rt. Art. Since the astronauts did not have spacesuits, they died from suffocation.

Despite the fact that the crew did not respond to MCC questions, re-entry, braking and landing were successful. After this tragic incident, the Soyuz pilots began to without fail supply spacesuits.

Shuttle Challenger

Death toll: 7

Official reason: gas leak in the elements of the solid fuel booster

The mid-1980s was a real triumph for American program"Space Shuttle". Successful missions took place one after another at unusually short intervals, sometimes no more than 17 days. The Challenger mission STS-51-L was significant for two reasons. Firstly, she broke the previous record, as the interval between missions was only 16 days. Secondly, the Challenger crew included a school teacher whose task was to conduct a lesson from orbit. This program should have aroused interest in space flights, which in last years calmed down a bit.

On January 28, 1986, the Kennedy Space Center was packed with thousands of spectators and journalists. About 20% of the country's population watched the live broadcast. The shuttle soared into the air to the cries of the admiring audience. Everything went well in the beginning, but then puffs of black smoke were visible coming out of the right solid rocket booster, and then a torch of fire appeared from it.

A few seconds later, the flame became much larger due to the combustion of the leaked liquid hydrogen. Approximately 70 seconds later, the destruction of the external fuel tank began, followed by a sharp explosion and detachment of the orbiter's cabin. During the fall of the cabin, the astronauts remained alive and conscious, they even made attempts to restore the power supply. But nothing helped. As a result of the impact of the orbiter cabin on the water, at a speed of 330 km / h, all crew members died on the spot.

After the shuttle exploded, numerous cameras continued to film what was happening. The faces of shocked people got into the lenses, among whom were relatives of all seven dead astronauts. Thus was filmed one of the most tragic reports in the history of television. After the disaster, a ban was imposed on the operation of shuttles for a period of 32 months. The system of solid-fuel boosters was also finalized, and a parachute rescue system was installed on all shuttles.

Shuttle Columbia

Death toll: 7

Official reason: damage to the heat-insulating layer on the wing of the device

On February 1, the shuttle Columbia successfully returned to Earth after a successful space mission. At the beginning, reentry into the atmosphere proceeded in on a regular basis, but later a thermal sensor on the left wing transmitted an anomalous value to the MCC. A piece of thermal insulation broke off from the outer skin, as a result of which the thermal protection system failed. After that, at least four sensors went off scale hydraulic system ship, and literally 5 minutes later the connection with the shuttle was cut off. While the MCC personnel were trying to contact Columbia and find out what happened to the sensors, one of the employees saw live the shuttle already falling to pieces. The entire crew of 7 people died.

This tragedy dealt a serious blow to the prestige of American space exploration. Shuttle flights were once again banned for 29 months. In the future, they performed only critical tasks for the repair and maintenance of the ISS. In fact, this was the end of the existence of the Space Shuttle program. The Americans were forced to turn to Russia with a request to transport astronauts to the ISS on Russian ships"Union".

"In memory of astronaut Laurel Clark".
Small sheet of 4 stamps. Gambia, 2003

Looking at stamps dedicated to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts, I looked at these people from a different, somewhat unusual side. It would seem that nothing new can be said about astronauts, their flights and biographies, it seems that everything has been written about them.

From April 12, 1961 to the present, 99 Soviet and Russian cosmonauts have flown into space. About all the starts, even not entirely successful ones, we were widely informed by means mass media. It was reported, but not always, about the death or death of astronauts. In recent years, this sensitive topic can only be learned from specialized sources. But today, 22 Soviet cosmonauts are no longer alive - people of excellent health who have passed a rigorous medical selection, special psychological and physical training.

The first, and tragic, loss occurred on April 24, 1967. V. Komarov died while returning to Earth due to the failure of the parachute system of the Soyuz-1 descent vehicle. This was his second flight testing the new spacecraft. He made his first flight as commander of the Voskhod spacecraft on October 12–13, 1964.

The second, no less tragic and even more emotional, loss occurred on March 27, 1968. The first cosmonaut of the planet, Yu. Gagarin, died during a training flight on a training fighter with Colonel V. Seregin near the town of Kirzhach, Vladimir Region, at about 10 o'clock. 31 min. by Moscow time. Until now, there is no unambiguous conclusion about the causes of this accident, there are several versions.

On June 30, 1971, the largest in history occurred Soviet cosmonautics catastrophe. Due to the depressurization of the Soyuz-11 descent vehicle, the entire crew died during the return to Earth: V. Volkov, G. Dobrovolsky and V. Patsaev. For Volkov, this was the second space flight.

Time passes, psychological and physical overload, stress, and just the years take their toll. Seventeen cosmonauts died from inherent and ordinary people diseases. Three from postoperative complications, five from cancer and seven from heart disease. An accident can be considered the death of V. Lazarev, who was poisoned by low-quality alcohol.

Gagarin, the first cosmonaut of the planet, died the youngest. He was only 34 years old. In total, three cosmonauts died between the ages of 30 and 40. Two others who did not live to be 40 years old, Volkov (35 years old) and Patsaev (38 years old), died in the second catastrophe in the history of Soviet cosmonautics.

Four died or died between the ages of 40 and 50: Komarov, Belyaev, Dobrovolsky and A. Levchenko; from 50 to 60 years old - three: B. Egorov, Yu. Malyshev and V. Vasyutin; from 60 to 70 years old - seven: V. Lazarev, G. Shonin, Yu. Artyukhin, E. Khrunov, G. Titov, G. Strekalov and G. Sarafanov; from 70 to 75 years old - five: G. Beregovoy, L. Demin, N. Rukavishnikov, O. Makarov and A. Nikolaev.

Cosmonaut "number three" Nikolaev, who did not live two months before his seventy-fifth birthday, died the oldest. In total, Beregovoy lived half a year less, until 1991 (T. Aubakirova's start) - the only astronaut, which first started on October 26, 1968, already being a Hero of the Soviet Union. First " golden star» Beregovoy received during the Great Patriotic War for 186 sorties to attack enemy troops.

Astronauts, being well-known and public people, are buried in various cemeteries - from Novodevichy in Moscow to small rural churchyards. All the cosmonauts who died during the flights are buried in Moscow on Red Square in the Kremlin wall.

On the Novodevichy cemetery Belyaev, Yegorov, Beregovoy and Titov are buried. Khrunov, Makarov, Strekalov and Rukavishnikov are buried on Ostankino in Moscow. At the cemetery of the village of Leonikha Shchelkovsky district Lazarev, Shonin, Artyukhin, Demin, Malyshev and Sarafanov are buried in the Moscow region. Levchenko was buried at the Bykovsky cemetery in Zhukovsky, and Vasyutin at the cemetery in the village of Monino. Nikolaev is the only cosmonaut who is buried not in Moscow or the Moscow region, but in his homeland, in the village of Shorshely, Mariinsky-Posadsky district of the Chuvash Republic.

For comparison, I will give statistics for other countries. From May 5, 1961, 274 astronauts have launched in the United States, and today there are 30 flying astronauts, including four women, who are no longer alive.

More than half of them died in three terrible disasters. On January 27, 1967, during the pre-flight training of the crew, a fire broke out in the cabin of the Apollo spacecraft, three astronauts died (one of them, R. Chaffee, did not have time to fly into space). On January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after launch, the Challenger spacecraft exploded, killing seven astronauts at once. On February 1, 2003, 16 minutes before landing, the spacecraft Columbia collapsed, killing seven more astronauts. Four astronauts died in air and car accidents, five died from cancer, four from heart disease.

Five astronauts died between the ages of 30 and 40, twelve astronauts died or died between the ages of 40 and 50, six astronauts between 50 and 60, five between 60 and 70, and two between 70 and 80.

In addition to US astronauts, the following died on May 9, 1995 in a plane crash - German astronaut R. Furrer, on February 1, 2003 in the Columbia crash - the first Israeli astronaut I. Ramon.

All countries honor the memory of space explorers, including through philately. Especially many stamps are dedicated to cosmonauts and astronauts who died during flights. For example, almost all countries of the world devoted issues to the disasters of Soyuz-11, Challenger and Columbia. Regularly in different countries stamps are issued dedicated to the fallen and deceased cosmonauts and astronauts.

Unfortunately, there are no stamps, envelopes or cards with portraits of Levchenko and Vasyutin yet. I hope that the Marka Publishing and Trade Center will fill this gap and issue stamps, dedicated to memory astronauts who are no longer with us.

There are only about 20 people who gave their lives for the benefit of world progress in space exploration, and today we will tell about them.

Their names are immortalized in the ashes of cosmic chronos, burned into the atmospheric memory of the universe forever, many of us would dream of remaining heroes for humanity, however, few would like to accept such a death as our astronaut heroes.

The 20th century became a breakthrough in mastering the path to the expanses of the Universe, in the second half of the 20th century, after long preparations, a person was finally able to fly into space. However, there was also back side such rapid progress death of astronauts.

People died during pre-flight preparations, during takeoff of a spacecraft, during landing. Total during space launches, flight preparations, including cosmonauts and technical personnel who died in the layers of the atmosphere more than 350 people died, only astronauts - about 170 people.

We list the names of the cosmonauts who died during the operation of the spacecraft (the USSR and the whole world, in particular America), and then we will briefly tell the story of their death.

Not a single cosmonaut died directly in space, basically all of them died in the Earth's atmosphere, during the destruction or fire of the ship (the Apollo 1 cosmonauts died in preparation for the first manned flight).

Volkov, Vladislav Nikolaevich ("Soyuz-11")

Dobrovolsky, Georgy Timofeevich ("Soyuz-11")

Komarov, Vladimir Mikhailovich ("Soyuz-1")

Patsaev, Viktor Ivanovich ("Soyuz-11")

Anderson, Michael Phillip (Columbia)

Brown, David McDowell (Columbia)

Grissom, Virgil Ivan (Apollo 1)

Jarvis, Gregory Bruce (Challenger)

Clark, Laurel Blair Salton (Columbia)

McCool, William Cameron (Columbia)

McNair, Ronald Ervin (Challenger)

McAuliffe, Christa (Challenger)

Onizuka, Allison (Challenger)

Ramon, Ilan (Columbia)

Resnick, Judith Arlen (Challenger)

Scobie, Francis Richard (Challenger)

Smith, Michael John (Challenger)

White, Edward Higgins (Apollo 1)

Husband, Rick Douglas (Columbia)

Chawla, Kalpana (Colombia)

Chaffee, Roger (Apollo 1)

It is worth considering that we will never know the stories of the death of some astronauts, because this information is secret.

Soyuz-1 disaster

Soyuz-1 is the first Soviet manned spacecraft (KK) of the Soyuz series. Launched into orbit April 23, 1967. On board the Soyuz-1 was one cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel-Engineer V. M. Komarov, who died during the landing of the descent vehicle. Komarov's understudy in preparation for this flight was Yu. A. Gagarin.

Soyuz-1 was supposed to dock with the Soyuz-2 spacecraft to return the crew of the first ship, but due to malfunctions, the Soyuz-2 launch was canceled.

After entering orbit, problems with work began solar battery, after unsuccessful attempts to launch it, it was decided to lower the ship to Earth.

But during the descent, 7 km to the ground, the parachute system failed, the ship hit the ground at a speed of 50 km per hour, the hydrogen peroxide tanks exploded, the cosmonaut died instantly, the Soyuz-1 almost completely burned out, the cosmonaut's remains were badly burned so that it was impossible to determine even fragments of the body.

"This crash was the first in-flight death in the history of manned spaceflight."

The causes of the tragedy have not been fully established.

Soyuz-11 disaster

Soyuz-11 is a spacecraft whose crew of three cosmonauts died in 1971. The reason for the death of people is the depressurization of the descent vehicle during the landing of the ship.

Just a couple of years after the death of Yu. A. Gagarin (the famous cosmonaut himself died under aviation accident in 1968), having already gone along the seemingly trodden path of conquering outer space, several more astronauts passed away.

Soyuz-11 was supposed to deliver the crew to the Salyut-1 orbital station, but the ship was unable to dock due to damage to the docking port.

Crew composition:

Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Dobrovolsky

Flight Engineer: Vladislav Volkov

Research Engineer: Victor Patsaev

They were between 35 and 43 years old. All of them were posthumously awarded awards, diplomas, orders.

What happened, why the spacecraft was depressurized, could not be established, but most likely we will not be told this information. But it is a pity that at that time our cosmonauts were "guinea pigs", which they began to release into space after the dogs without much reliability, security. However, probably, many of those who dreamed of becoming astronauts understood what a dangerous profession they were choosing.

Docking took place on June 7, undocking on June 29, 1971. Was unsuccessful attempt docking with the Salyut-1 orbital station, the crew was able to go on board the Salyut-1, even stayed on board for several days orbital station, a TV connection was established, however, already at the first approach to the station, the cosmonauts turned the filming to some smoke. On the 11th day, a fire began, the crew decided to descend on the ground, but problems were revealed that disrupted the undocking process. Space suits were not provided for the crew.

On June 29, at 21.25, the ship separated from the station, but after a little more than 4 hours, communication with the crew was lost. The main parachute was deployed, the ship landed in a given area, and the soft landing engines fired. But the search team found at 02.16 (June 30, 1971) the lifeless bodies of the crew, resuscitation measures were unsuccessful.

During the investigation, it was found that the astronauts tried to the last to eliminate the leak, but mixed up the valves, fought not for the broken one, in the meantime they missed the opportunity to save. They died from decompression sickness - air bubbles were found during the autopsy of the bodies, even in the valves of the heart.

The exact reasons for the depressurization of the ship have not been named, more precisely, they have not been announced to the general public.

Subsequently, engineers and creators of spacecraft, crew commanders took into account many tragic mistakes previous unsuccessful flights into space.

Shuttle Challenger disaster

“The Challenger shuttle disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger at the very beginning of the STS-51L mission was destroyed as a result of an external fuel tank explosion at the 73rd second of flight, which led to the death of all 7 crew members. The crash occurred at 11:39 AM EST (16:39 UTC) over Atlantic Ocean near the coast of the central part of the Florida peninsula, USA.

In the photo, the crew of the ship - from left to right: McAuliffe, Jarvis, Reznik, Scobie, McNair, Smith, Onizuka

All of America was waiting for this launch, millions of eyewitnesses and viewers on TV watched the launch of the ship, it was the climax of the conquest of space by the West. And so, when there was a grand launch of the ship, seconds later, a fire began, later an explosion, the shuttle cabin separated from the destroyed ship and fell at a speed of 330 km per hour on the surface of the water, seven days later the astronauts will be found in a breakaway cabin at the bottom of the ocean. Before last moment, before hitting the water, some crew members were alive, trying to supply air to the cabin.

There is an excerpt in the video below the article live broadcast with the launch and death of the shuttle.

“The crew of the shuttle Challenger consisted of seven people. Its composition was as follows:

The crew commander is 46-year-old Francis "Dick" R. Scobee. Francis "Dick" R. Scobee. US military pilot, US Air Force lieutenant colonel, NASA astronaut.

The co-pilot is 40-year-old Michael J. Smith. Test pilot, US Navy captain, NASA astronaut.

The scientific specialist is 39-year-old Allison S. Onizuka. Test pilot, US Air Force lieutenant colonel, NASA astronaut.

The scientific specialist is 36-year-old Judith A. Resnick. NASA engineer and astronaut. She spent 6 days in space 00 hours 56 minutes.

Scientific specialist - 35-year-old Ronald E. McNair. Physicist, NASA astronaut.

The payload specialist is 41-year-old Gregory B. Jarvis. NASA engineer and astronaut.

The payload specialist is 37-year-old Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe. The Boston teacher who won the competition. For her, this was her first flight into space as the first participant in the “Teacher in Space” project.”

Last photo of the crew

To establish the causes of the tragedy, various commissions were created, but most of the information was classified, according to assumptions, the reasons for the crash of the ship were weak interaction organizational services, irregularities in the operation of the fuel system that were not detected in time (an explosion occurred at launch due to a burnout of the solid-fuel booster wall) and even .. a terrorist attack. Some have said that the shuttle explosion was staged to hurt America's prospects.

Columbia shuttle disaster

“The shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, shortly before the end of its 28th flight (mission STS-107). Last flight The space shuttle Columbia began on January 16, 2003. On the morning of February 1, 2003, after a 16-day flight, the shuttle returned to Earth.

NASA lost contact with the spacecraft at approximately 14:00 GMT (09:00 EST), 16 minutes before the intended landing on Runway 33 space center named after John F. Kennedy in Florida - it was supposed to take place at 14:16 GMT. Eyewitnesses filmed the burning wreckage of the shuttle flying at an altitude of about 63 kilometers at a speed of 5.6 km / s. All 7 crew members were killed."

Pictured is the crew - From top to bottom: Chawla, Husband, Anderson, Clarke, Ramon, McCool, Brown

The Columbia shuttle was making its next 16-day flight, which was supposed to end with a landing on Earth, however, as the main version of the investigation says, the shuttle was damaged during launch - a piece of thermal insulation foam came off (the coating was intended to protect oxygen tanks from ice and hydrogen) as a result of the impact damaged the wing coating, as a result of which, during the descent of the apparatus, when the heaviest loads on the hull occur, the apparatus began to overheat and, subsequently, destruction.

Even during the shuttle expedition, engineers repeatedly turned to NASA management in order to assess damage, visually inspect the shuttle body with the help of orbital satellites, but NASA specialists assured that there were no fears and risks, the shuttle would safely descend to Earth.

“The crew of the Columbia shuttle consisted of seven people. Its composition was as follows:

The crew commander is 45-year-old Richard "Rick" D. Husband. US military pilot, US Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut. Spent 25 days 17 hours 33 minutes in space. Prior to Columbia, he was commander of the STS-96 Discovery shuttle.

The co-pilot is 41-year-old William "Willie" C. McCool. Test pilot, NASA astronaut. Spent 15 days 22 hours 20 minutes in space.

The flight engineer is 40-year-old Kalpana Chawla. Researcher, first female NASA astronaut of Indian origin. Spent 31 days 14 hours 54 minutes in space.

Payload Specialist - 43-year-old Michael F. Anderson (Eng. Michael P. Anderson). Scientist, NASA astronaut. Spent 24 days, 18 hours, 8 minutes in space.

Specialist in zoology - 41-year-old Laurel B. S. Clark (Eng. Laurel B. S. Clark). US Navy Captain, NASA Astronaut. Spent 15 days 22 hours 20 minutes in space.

Scientific specialist (physician) - 46-year-old David McDowell Brown. Test pilot, NASA astronaut. Spent 15 days 22 hours 20 minutes in space.

Scientific specialist - 48-year-old Ilan Ramon (Eng. Ilan Ramon, Heb.אילן רמון‏‎). First Israeli NASA astronaut. Spent 15 days 22 hours 20 minutes in space.

The shuttle descended on February 1, 2003, landing on Earth was supposed to occur within an hour.

“On February 1, 2003 at 08:15:30 (EST), the space shuttle Columbia began its descent to Earth. At 08:44 the shuttle began to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere. However, due to damage, the leading edge of the left wing began to overheat badly. From the period of 08:50, the ship's hull endures strong thermal loads, at 08:53, debris began to fall off the wing, but the crew was alive, there was still communication.

At 08:59:32 the commander sent last message, interrupted in mid-sentence. At 09:00 eyewitnesses have already filmed the explosion of the shuttle, the ship fell apart into a lot of debris. that is, the fate of the crew was a foregone conclusion due to the inaction of NASA, but the destruction itself and the death of people occurred in a matter of seconds.

It is worth noting that the Columbia shuttle was operated many times, at the time of its death the ship was 34 years old (in operation with NASA since 1979, the first manned flight in 1981), flew into space 28 times, but this flight turned out to be fatal.

In space itself, no one died, in dense layers atmosphere and in spacecraft - about 18 people.

In addition to the catastrophes of 4 ships (two Russian - Soyuz-1 and Soyuz-11 and American - Columbia and Challenger), in which 18 people died, there were several more disasters during the explosion, fire in pre-flight preparation , one of the most famous tragedies - a fire in an atmosphere of pure oxygen in preparation for the Apollo 1 flight, then three people died American astronauts, in a similar situation, a very young cosmonaut of the USSR, Valentin Bondarenko, died. The astronauts just burned alive.

Another NASA astronaut, Michael Adams, died while testing the X-15 rocket plane.

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin died during an unsuccessful flight on an airplane during a routine training.

Probably, the goal of the people who stepped into space was grandiose, and it’s not a fact that even knowing their fate, many would renounce astronautics, but still you always need to remember at what cost we paved the way to the stars ...

Pictured is a monument dead cosmonauts on the moon

The cosmonauts of the USSR became the first in the mysterious and beautiful space. Mankind has always dreamed of getting in touch with other civilizations.

Cosmonautics stores knowledge of where the universe itself and man originated from. Is there another planet in observable space with similar conditions for life, and perhaps with its own history?

Who says that space only black, he doesn't know too much about the world outside known planets. Modern residents may not remember how the story began space exploration. Fantasists all over the world come up with the possibility of time travel (in terms of modern physics portals are possible).

However, without memories of the discoverers, we are unlikely to cross the limits of accessible (visible) space. We will not go out to other galaxies and astronautics will die.

A space nation, our country received such a “title” after the successful flight of Gagarin. This was not just a national achievement or pride, but a bid for global dominance. The Russians brought down to earth from the black depths of space not only glory.

The nations of the world have recognized the existence of a new "space" tactical advantage for any military operation, which in modern realities could be called "space wars".

The first space warrior

They became Yuri Gagarin, born in the Kashinsky village at the beginning of the twentieth century. His studies were interrupted during patriotic war. Six years after the end of the German attempts to conquer the Union, the future pilot entered the technical school of Saratov, where he became interested in air flights. Five years later, Yura enters the flight school.

By his first flight into dark space, Yuri managed to fly over two hundred hours. In April of the sixty-first year (XX century), he spent a little more than a hundred minutes (108) outside our planet on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. The landing was successful.

The need to make themselves known to the public forced the Americans to invest a lot of money in the fight against the "red country". Victory could bring spiritual uplift to the losing country.

"Soviets" did not seek approval for funding space programs, but decided to cover exclusively successful missions. Soviet citizens decided that the program of the USSR is not capable of failing. They were wrong.

The table below in chronological order the cosmonauts of the USSR, the names of their spacecraft, the date of the flight and other data are indicated.

A space warrior named Constantine

Feoktistov Konstantin Petrovich - this researcher spent a day in space. Alas, he did not wait for the second flight "for health reasons." This "state" remained with him after the unsuccessful "execution" in German captivity.

After the hostilities, he chose the "peaceful" path and in the sixty-seventh received a doctorate.

Many events associated with the death of pilots were long time classified. Even now, half a century later, their exact number is not known.

Few people know about Vladimir Komarov, best friend Soviet hero Gagarin. Second after Gagarin, Vladimir died during the unsuccessful return of his Soyuz-1 capsule. There were rumors about him last minutes, in which many claim he opposed the Soviet regime and blamed them for his impending death.

The officially successful second flight into space was a flight under the control of German Titov (this former understudy Gagarin).

There are many theories regarding deceased space pilots. The secrecy of the government has given rise to many hypotheses about people "missing" in space. Moreover, there are allegations that flights were made long before the first flight in 61 years (20th century). There is no public evidence, apart from the manipulation of some photos in the media.

All of the evidence supporting the "lost" astronaut theory has been dismissed as inconclusive, and some cases have been proven to be hoaxes. In the eighties, a journalist from America spent own investigation disasters in the Soviet Union, but also found no evidence.

Bondarenko Valentin Vasilievich

Lost Russian pilot astronaut. Like many cosmonauts, he was preparing for a future flight into space, undergoing tests in the depressurization chamber at NII-7 of the Air Force. Selected pilots were tested by silence and loneliness. The tenth day of Valentine's stay in the depressurization chamber was coming to an end.

At the end of one of medical experiments, Valentin Vasilievich detached the special sensors from his body, wiped the attachment points with a swab dipped in alcohol, and then accidentally threw it away by mistake. The tampon, hitting the spiral of a hot electric stove, instantly flared up. The pilot's training suit caught fire.

When the pressure chamber was opened, Valentin was still alive. But in the hospital, after eight hours of attempts by doctors to help, he died, having experienced burn shock incompatible with life. 19 days before the first official flight into space, Valentin Bondarenko, who was in the cosmonaut training group, died.

Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov

Born on the sixteenth of March in the twenty-seventh year in the Orenburg region. In the forty-fifth year he graduated from the aviation school in Borisoglebsk. In the list of pilot-cosmonauts, he was number seven. He made two flights into space on two spacecraft of the first generation "Soyuz" and "Voskhod".

The first space expedition without space suits (they were removed due to lack of space) took place in October 1964. The flight went well. Komarov spent a little more than a day in space (the duration of the flight), after which, using a soft landing system, he successfully completed his first expedition.

On the second flight, from the very beginning, there were many emergency situations and small failures that warned of impending disaster. At the final stage, due to the failure of the parachute landing system, the device entered an uncontrolled rotation, high speed crashed into the ground in the Adamovsky district of the Orenburg region, collapsed and caught fire. "Union" of the second generation burned down in April of the sixty-seventh year.

Viktor Ivanovich Patsaev

He was born on the nineteenth of June in the thirty-third year on the territory of modern Kazakhstan, in Aktobe.

In the fifty-eighth year, he got a job in the design bureau of the famous Korolev. Thirteen years later, he flew as a research engineer as part of the Soyuz-11. Spent twenty-three days in space on the Salyut-1 orbital station.

However, when the Soyuz-11 landed, a depressurization occurred, all three crew members - Victor Patsaev, Georgy Dobrovolsky and Vladislav Volkov - died. Posthumously, in the same 71st year, they all received the award of the "Hero of the Soviet Union".

Volkov Vladislav Nikolaevich

Vladislav was born two years later than Patsaev in Moscow. After graduating from the Moscow aviation institute, worked in KB Korolev. Vladislav Volkov is one of the developers of many spacecraft, including the ships Vostok and Voskhod.

The first expedition into space took place on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft in 1969 and lasted four days and twenty-two hours. In the second expedition, which took place in the seventy-first year, being part of Patsaev and Dobrovolsky, he died during the depressurization of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft.

Dobrovolsky Georgy Timofeevich

George was born in 1928, on the first day of summer, in Odessa. In 1944, he was captured by the occupying forces of Romania and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor. A month later, in March, the locals ransomed George from the prison guard.

After release hometown from the occupation, entered a special school air force, which he graduated in 1946. Studied in Chuguevsky aviation school, served as a fighter pilot, graduated air force academy(now bearing the name of Yuri Gagarin).

In January 1962, when Georgy Timofeevich was 33 years old, he was invited to undergo training in the cosmonaut corps. Dobrovolsky was prepared according to the lunar program. In 1971, he made his first flight on the Soyuz-11 spacecraft, which ended in tragedy. All three crew members, in their prime, died.

Women-cosmonauts of the USSR and Russia

The fates of women who have devoted themselves to work in the space sphere are amazing.

Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna

The first woman to go into space, and even alone (the only one in the world today!), Was Valentina under the call sign "Seagull".

Valentina Vladimirovna was born four years before the start of the Patriotic War, on March 6. In the fifty-third she graduated from 7 classes of school, then she graduated from 3 more classes, combining education with work and helping her family. Possessing a good ear for music learned to play the domra.

Professions of Valentina before joining the cosmonaut corps:

• a bracelet at the Tire Factory in Yaroslavl;
• roving at the Technical Fabrics Combine in the same city;
• student correspondence department College light industry, specialty - technologist for cotton spinning;
• secretary of the Komsomol committee;
• student of the Yaroslavl Parachute Club (performed 90 jumps).

In 1962, she was selected from 100 applicants for the women's cosmonaut training squad. Valentina fully met the criteria by which the selection took place - up to 170 cm in height, up to 70 kg in weight, paratrooper, age up to 30 years. Also, in addition to excellent flight training and successful completion all trials, Soviet authorities looked at social status(she was from the working class) and the ability to lead an active social life.

The flight was made on June 16 of the sixty-third year on spaceship"Vostok-6". Valentina's flight lasted almost three days, she made 48 orbits around the Earth, kept a logbook, took pictures of the planet.

After her triumphant return, Valentina became an instructor for astronauts, and she worked in this position until April 1997.

After flying into space, Valentina Vladimirovna graduated from the Air Force Academy. Zhukovsky, defended her dissertation, became a professor, published more than five dozen scientific works. This amazing woman was ready to fly in one direction.

Kondakova Elena Vladimirovna

Elena is the first female Russian cosmonaut to make a long-duration flight into outer space. She was born in the fifty-seventh year in Moscow.

Her flight took place in 1994, when the Union was no more. Elena returned to our planet in March 1995, after five months at the Mir station. The second flight on the American shuttle Atlantis took place in 1997 in May from the 15th to the 24th.

Here will be a list women's squad. Although some of these brave female astronauts are already dead, it’s worth remembering these six names:

Russian cosmonauts

In which town are domestic cosmonauts trained?

The Gagarin Aircraft Training Center is the main Soviet and Russian institution Roscosmos. "Star City" was created in the early sixties in the Moscow region Shchelkovsky.

S. G. Krikalev is listed as the leader. At the end of the same decade, the center was named after the first person who visited outer space.

A fairly young training center for preparing people for a journey into space is located in the forest, hidden from prying eyes. Getting into the city is difficult.

With a population of six thousand people, this is a closed administrative territorial division surrounded by forest. Deputies are elected every five years, and all are subordinate to one large Russian corporation.

Few Western journalists or reporters have had access to the treasury Russian cosmonautics where the great conquerors of dark space were trained.

Only one photographer managed to get beautiful shots of the secret Mitch complex by the name of Karunaratne. He was allowed to go deep for 48 kilometers from the capital and see the center where the legendary cosmonaut with the call sign "Kedr" (Gagarin's call sign) was trained.

Conclusion

To this day, despite the fact that the area is no longer a military zone, but transferred space agency in 2009, it's still hard for outsiders to get access to Star City here.