The crew of the record-setting Soyuz 11 mission died just 30 minutes before they were due to touch down on Earth, in a catastrophic emergency they had no hope of surviving. Human space exploration is widely regarded as a crucial step in safeguarding humanity's long-term future, while furthering our understanding of the universe. The drive and determination to gather medical and environmental data, achieve technological breakthroughs and more through space travel is arguably the single greatest force uniting all nations across the globe.
Space programmes across the world collaborate, each seeking answers to fundamental scientific questions while pursuing revolutionary discoveries. Over the decades, humanity's relentless quest for knowledge and insight into space has come at a terrible cost, with some astronauts paying with their lives.
The Final Moments of Soyuz 11
On June 30, 1971, commander Georgi Dobrovolsky, flight engineer Vladislav Volkov and research engineer Viktor Patsayev were discovered dead in their seats aboard the Soyuz 11 craft following what had appeared to be a successful re-entry and landing back on Earth. Soyuz 11 was the sole crewed mission to dock with the world's first space station, Salyut 1, having launched on June 6, 1971.
In a heartbreaking twist of fate, the crew members aboard were actually the reserve astronauts for the mission, stepping in for the primary crew after a medical X-ray exam four days before launch indicated that original flight engineer Valery Kubasov might be suffering from tuberculosis. According to mission protocol, the prime crew was replaced with the back-up crew, yet it later emerged Kubasov had not actually had TB at all.
The back-up crew had spent 24 days in space which, at the time, represented the longest period anybody had ever spent in space, but it concluded in catastrophe. NASA confirmed shortly before their re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, tragedy struck and the cosmonauts died as a result of the sudden depressurisation of their spacecraft.
The Cause of the Disaster
Explosive bolts separated the Soyuz into its three components, with the crew inside the middle bell-shaped descent module. The space agency states: "The shock from the explosive bolts jarred open a pressure equalisation valve that normally opened only once the spacecraft was descending on its parachute, well inside the atmosphere. But in this case, the valve opened to the vacuum of space and the capsule's air escaped in less than one minute."
There is evidence the cosmonauts tried to respond to the emergency by manually closing the valve, a process that took several minutes. They rapidly lost consciousness as the pressure continued to drop and died within two minutes. Not wearing pressure suits, they had no hope of surviving.
The Gruesome Final Seconds
Given how rapidly the pressure dropped, it caused the moisture in the air to condense, generating a freezing fog throughout the cabin. Telemetry records revealed the cosmonauts' heart rates surged into severe panic. Despite their attempts to shut the valve, biomedical sensors monitoring the crew indicated their brains were being deprived of oxygen.
At that altitude, decompression meant the air was being violently torn from their lungs. Within approximately 30 to 40 seconds of the valve opening, all three men fell unconscious. The capsule continued on autopilot, drifting silently through space before re-entering Earth's atmosphere and touching down with the lifeless bodies of the crew still on board.
Aftermath and Legacy
NASA explained: "The spacecraft's parachute opened as planned and rescue helicopters touched down alongside the capsule as it made a soft landing 320 miles east of the city of Zhezkazgan in Soviet Kazakhstan. Recovery forces opened the hatch to find the lifeless bodies of the cosmonauts still strapped in their seats. Resuscitation efforts by rescue personnel proved ineffective."
The crew had not been wearing pressure suits. In the wake of this devastating tragedy, all cosmonauts have since been required to wear spacesuits during Soyuz launches and landings.
