Apollo 13 spacecraft, which departed from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, encountered a significant hurdle when an oxygen tank in the service module malfunctioned just two days into the mission, leading to the cancellation of the planned lunar landing. In response, the crew executed an orbital trajectory around the Moon before successfully returning to Earth on April 17.
Following their three-week tenure aboard the Salyut 1 space station, the Soyuz 11 crew met a tragic fate upon undocking. A flaw in the construction of a cabin vent valve led it to unintentionally open during the separation of the service module. The recovery team encountered the devastating scene of the crew's demise. To this date, in 2023, these three individuals stand as the solitary instances of human fatalities beyond the threshold of 100 km (330,000 ft) in the realm of space.
In 2003, NASA launched two Mars rovers as part of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, with Spirit being one of them. With a budget of $800 million, this ambitious endeavour aimed to uncover insights about Mars. However, Spirit faced a formidable challenge in the form of an unforeseen sand trap. Despite NASA's persistent efforts spanning weeks to guide the rover to more secure terrain, progress was minimal. Regrettably, the rover's movement became impeded, ultimately leading to its inability to continue transmitting data to Earth.
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Tragedy struck on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated while re-entering Earth's atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana. This catastrophic event resulted in the loss of all seven astronauts aboard the shuttle. This marked the second occasion in which a Space Shuttle mission ended in disaster, the first being the Challenger and its crew in 1986. The aftermath of the Columbia disaster led to suspension of Space Shuttle flight operations for over two years, mirroring the hiatus following the Challenger tragedy.
This tragedy unfolded on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger shattered into pieces a mere 73 seconds into its flight, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members on board. The disintegration of the spacecraft occurred at an altitude of 46,000 feet (14 km) above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the shores of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This incident marked the initial instance of a fatal mishap involving a US spacecraft while in the midst of its journey.
On the day of its intended lunar landing, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) faced a communication loss with Vikram when it was a mere 335 meters (0.335 km) away from the Moon's surface. Insights derived from ISRO's Telemetry Tracking and Command Centre indicated that the setback transpired during the "fine braking phase", which constituted the last leg of Vikram's expedition, occurring within the altitude range of 5 km to 400 meters. This phase was initiated as the lander reached a distance of 5 km from the lunar terrain.
During the Soyuz 1 expedition, designed for eventual lunar travel for a single cosmonaut Komarov, faced spacecraft design issues that tragically led to his demise. The failure to deploy a solar panel severely limited the spacecraft's power, causing equipment malfunctions. With no choice but to abort, Komarov prepared to return to Earth. Troubles persisted as the parachutes failed to unfold properly, preventing proper deceleration. On April 24, 1967, Soyuz 1 crashed, claiming the life of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. His death marked the first in spaceflight history.
In July 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project merged space exploration and politics, marking the first collaborative US-Soviet spaceflight and effectively concluding the space race. Despite the inherent tension, the mission unfolded smoothly, with the two-spacecraft docking, enabling the exchange of greetings, gifts, and experiments. Following 44 hours together, they separated and later began their re-entry. Unfortunately, a reaction control system malfunction led to nitrogen tetroxide entering the Apollo cabin. Thankfully, ventilation upon landing prevented fatal harm, though astronauts developed chemically induced pneumonia.