Editing Space Race (section)

==== Soyuz 1 ====
{{Main|Soyuz 1}}

[[File:Vladimir Komarov - body remains.jpg|thumb|The remains of Vladimir Komarov]]

On April 24, 1967, the single pilot of Soyuz 1, [[Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov|Vladimir Komarov]], became the first in-flight spaceflight fatality. The mission was planned to be a three-day test, to include the first Soviet docking with an unpiloted [[Soyuz 2]], but the mission was plagued with problems. Problems began shortly after launch when one solar panel failed to unfold, leading to a shortage of power for the spacecraft's systems. Further problems with the orientation detectors complicated maneuvering the craft. By orbit 13, the automatic stabilisation system was completely dead, and the manual system was only partially effective.<ref>{{Cite web |title=soyuz-1 |url=https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/soyuz-1.pdf |website=sma.nasa.gov}}</ref> The mission was aborted, Soyuz 1 fired its [[retrorocket]]s and [[Atmospheric reentry|reentered]] the [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]]. During the emergency re-entry, a fault in the landing parachute system caused the primary chute to fail, and the reserve chute became tangled with the drogue chute, causing descent speed to reach as high as 40&nbsp;m/s (140&nbsp;km/h; 89&nbsp;mph). Shortly thereafter, [[Soyuz 1]] impacted the ground 3&nbsp;km (1.9&nbsp;mi) west of Karabutak, and was found on fire. The official autopsy states Komarov died of blunt force trauma on impact.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vladimir Komarov's tragic flight aboard Soyuz-1 |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz1.html |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Soyuz 1 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-037A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spaceflight mission report: Soyuz 1 |url=http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-1.htm |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=www.spacefacts.de}}</ref> In the US during subsequent years, stories began circulating that in his last transmissions Komarov cursed the engineers and flight staff as he descended, or even that he cursed the Soviet leadership, and that these transmissions were received by an [[National Security Agency|NSA]] listening station near [[Istanbul]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-20 |title=Soyuz 1 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/s/soyuz1.html |access-date=2024-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820192411/http://www.astronautix.com/s/soyuz1.html |archive-date=August 20, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stilwell |first=Blake |date=2018-04-02 |title=The first man to die in the Space Race cursed the USSR the whole way down |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/first-man-die-space-race-cursed-command-whole-way/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=We Are The Mighty |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harvey |first=Ian |date=2015-10-26 |title=US Analysts Heard Russian Astronaut Komarov cursing his superiors while he plunged to his death in 1967 {{!}} The Vintage News |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/10/26/us-analysts-heard-russian-astronaut-komarov-cursing-his-superiors-while-he-plunged-to-his-death-in-1967/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=thevintagenews |language=en}}</ref> This would contradict Soviet records of the radio transcripts, and historians such as [[Asif Azam Siddiqi]] and [[Robert Pearlman]] regard these claims to be fabrications.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-03 |title=A Cosmonaut's Fiery Death Retold : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR |website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/05/03/135919389/a-cosmonauts-fiery-death-retold |access-date=2024-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503223325/https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/05/03/135919389/a-cosmonauts-fiery-death-retold |archive-date=May 3, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Margaritoff |first=Marco |date=2023-05-05 |title=The Tragic Death Of Vladimir Komarov, The Man Who Fell From Space |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/vladimir-komarov |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=All That's Interesting |language=en-US}}</ref>