Soyuz 11: Tragic Space Mission
June 29, 1971 · 20th Century
Soyuz 11 was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971, ending in tragedy when the crew capsule depressurised during preparations for re-entry, killing the three-man crew.
Key Figures
Georgy DobrovolskyVladislav VolkovViktor Patsayev
Locations
Baikonur CosmodromeSalyut 1Soyuz 11 Landing Site
Topics
Salyut 1Georgy DobrovolskySpace StationViktor PatsayevTragedyVladislav VolkovSoyuz 11
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Sputnik 1's success launched the Space Race, creating political pressure for increasingly ambitious Soviet missions that culminated in the rush to build and operate Salyut 1, contributing to the engineering compromises that made Soyuz 11 fatal Sputnik 1 Launched
The R-7 ICBM was repurposed as the launch vehicle for all Soviet space missions including Soyuz 11, with the rocket's reliability being crucial for crew safety - the launcher worked perfectly, but the spacecraft itself failed Development of the R-7 Semyorka ICBM
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