Space accidents, either during operations or training for spaceflights, have killed:

1
Space Disasters
Space accidents, either during operations or
training for spaceflights, have killed
Five percent of all people who have
been in space Two percent of
individual spaceflights A
much larger number of ground crew Not included
are alleged Russian space accidents that were not
reported by the Soviet Union. As of November
2004, 439 individuals have flown on spaceflights
Russia/Soviet Union (96),
USA (277), others (66). Twenty-two
have died while in a spacecraft three on
Apollo 1 one on Soyuz 1 one on X-15-3
three on Soyuz 11 seven on Challenger
1986 seven on Columbia 2003
2
The Apollo 1 Disaster, 1967
The first tragedy to strike the fledgling space
endeavour didnt even make it into space. The
Apollo/Saturn 204 (later known as Apollo 1)
mission was performing tests on the launch pad.
A fire broke out, killing all three crew
members Although a specific initiator could
not be determined, the final report of the
investigation board blamed the fire on arcing.
It was further exacerbated by the large quantity
of flammable materials in the cabin and the
oxygen enriched atmosphere. For future
missions, most flammable
materials were replaced with self-extinguishing
materials. pure oxygen was
replaced by a nitrogen-oxygen mixture at launch.
the hatch was redesigned to open
outward
and to be able to be removed
quickly. January 1967, Cape Kennedy
(Canaveral), Florida
3
The Soyuz 1 Disaster, 1967
Soyuz 1 was part of the Soviet Union's space
program. Launched into orbit in April
1967 Carried a single cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir
Komarov He was killed when the spacecraft
crashed during its return to Earth. This was the
first ever in-flight fatality. What
Happened? After 18 orbits, Soyuz 1 fired
retro-rockets and was deorbited as soon as it
passed above the USSR . Despite all of the
technical difficulties up to that point, Komarov
might still have landed safely, but the
main parachute did not unfold due to problems
with a pressure sensor, and the manually
deployed reserve chute tangled, making the
spacecraft fall to Earth nearly unbraked, at
about 40 meters per second.
Prior to launch, Soyuz 1 engineers are said to
have reported 200 design faults. Their concerns
"were overruled by political pressures for a
series of space feats to mark the anniversary of
Lenin's birthday
4
The X-15-3 Disaster, 1967
A test flight of the North American X-15
experimental aircraft. Launched by dropping
away from a B52 Bomber. It took place on
November 15, 1967 and was piloted by Michael J.
Adams. At 230,000 feet, encountering rapidly
changing air pressure, the X-15 entered a
Mach 5 spin. The aircraft broke apart minutes
after launch.
5
The Apollo 13 near-disaster, 1970
In the most celebrated "near miss", the Apollo
13 crew came home safely after an explosion
crippled their spacecraft two days after launch
en route to the moon. They survived the loss of
most of their spacecraft systems by relying on
the Lunar Module to provide life support and
power for the trip home. Despite great hardship
caused by severe constraints on power, cabin
heat, and potable water, the crew successfully
returned to Earth. The mission was thus called a
"Successful Failure". A radio transmission from
Lovell4 during the mission, "Houston, we've had
a problem" spawned the misquoted phrase in
popular culture, "Houston, we have a problem".
6
The Soyuz 11 Disaster, 1971
June 30, 1971 crew exposed to vacuum of
space . The crew of Soyuz 11, Georgi
Dobrovolskii, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav
Volkov, were killed after undocking from space
station Salyut 1 after a three-week stay. A
valve on their spacecraft had accidentally opened
when the service module separated, letting
their air leak out into space. The capsule
reentered and landed normally. Their deaths were
only discovered when it was opened by the
recovery team.
7
The 2003 Columbia Disaster