When The Stars Aligned Against Us: Space Exploration's Darkest Hours

Space exploration has seen great successes as well as devastating setbacks, Here are the five most notable space disasters

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Challenger Disaster (1986)

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Columbia Disaster (2003)

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Soyuz-1 (1967)

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Apollo 1 (1967)

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Progress M-12 (1980)

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When The Stars Aligned Against Us: Space Exploration's Darkest Hours

Space exploration has seen great successes as well as devastating setbacks, Here are the five most notable space disasters

Challenger Disaster (1986)

The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all seven crewmembers, including instructor Christa McAuliffe

Columbia Disaster (2003)

It was destroyed during reentry, killing all seven crewmembers. A piece of foam insulation had damaged the shuttle's wing during launch, leading to its tragic demise

Soyuz-1 (1967)

This was the first fatal human spaceflight, Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov passed away when his parachute failed upon reentry

Apollo 1 (1967)

Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a launch pad test

Progress M-12 (1980)

Spacecraft carrying supplies to the Salyut 6 space station failed to orbit and crashed, contaminating a wide area with highly toxic rocket fuel