13 Of The Worst Space Accidents

11. MIR Space station Collision

In 1986, the Soviet Union launched the MIR space station. It was replaced by the ISS, or International Space Station in 2001.

MIR had seen its share of trouble through the years. Once, a fire broke out for over a minute when a lithium perchlorate canister leaked.

On June 25, 1997, however, a huge problem occurred. The Spektr module of the space station was hit by a Progress M-34 cargo ship. This damaged the solar capacities of the station severely and left a hole in the module. The result was depressurization. The crew were able to close the damaged module off, effectively saving themselves from certain death.

12.ISS Expedition 36

Drowning is probably not something you think of happening in space, but one time it almost did.

Astronaut Luca Parmitano was on an EVA mission when he noticed liquid in his helmet. Because of the lack of gravity in space, all matter behaves differently than it does on earth.

A flight controller immediately ordered for the mission to be aborted and Luca was returned to the safety of airlock so his suit could be removed.

During the depressurization , a flaw in the spacesuit’s cooling system had caused so much water to fill his suit that he couldn’t communicate it effectively. They were able to remove his helmet in time, thankfully. He would have drowned if they hadn’t stopped the flight when they did.

13. Apollo 1 Electrical Fire

The Apollo 1 disaster didn’t technically happen in space. It goes to show us that all aspects of the space program can be extremely dangerous.

Apollo 1 was the first manned mission in the series of Apollo mission, which are arguably the space program’s most well known.

It was to be a test flight in low earth orbit, but it never took place. A fire broke out in the cabin during launch rehearsal, killing 3 crew members.

The fire was started as the result of an electrical malfunction.