Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 17 2009

Soyuz 1 (Союз 1, Union 1) was a Soviet manned spaceflight. Launched into orbit on 23 April 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first manned flight of the Soyuz spacecraft. Komarov was killed when the spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth after a mission beset with mechanical problems. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight. (more...)