Throughout history, several astronaut and cosmonaut fatalities have occurred in space‑related accidents. While the Challenger and Columbia disasters dominate headlines, there are dozens of close calls that never made the front pages. Below, we count down ten near death experiences that could have ended very differently.
Why These Near-Death Episodes Matter
10 Liberty Bell 7
Also known as Mercury‑Redstone 4, this mission thrust the second American into orbit on July 21 1961. Virgil I. Grissom – affectionately called “Gus” – completed a 15‑minute flight that NASA hailed as a success, but the drama unfolded at splashdown.
Just as the capsule hit the water, the explosive hatch‑cover mechanism fired unintentionally. The sudden release sent the hatch flying open, plunging Grissom into the Atlantic. He scrambled out of the capsule, a split‑second decision that saved his life.
Compounding the peril, the recovery helicopter malfunctioned, leaving Grissom bobbing in the surf for nearly five minutes before a second helicopter finally plucked him to safety.
9 Voskhod 2
On March 18 1965, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 2 from Baikonur with cosmonauts Pavel I. Belyayev and Aleksey A. Leonov aboard. Leonov was slated to perform the first ever extra‑vehicular activity (EVA), a historic spacewalk that would broadcast Soviet prowess worldwide.
After stepping into the airlock and lowering the cabin pressure, Leonov floated out into the void for a ten‑minute promenade. However, his suit began to balloon as it filled with air, making movement nearly impossible. With only 40 minutes of oxygen left, he faced a suffocation threat.
Thinking quickly, Leonov vented small amounts of oxygen into space, gradually deflating the suit enough to squeeze back into the cramped airlock, though he risked overheating in the process.
After the EVA, a fire hazard sparked inside the cabin, and the autopilot failed. The pair were forced to pilot the craft manually to a remote Siberian landing, spending two nights in the wilderness before being rescued by skiers.
8 Gemini 8
Launched on March 16 1966, Gemini 8 was meant to achieve a rendezvous with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) and conduct an EVA. Astronauts David Scott and Neil Armstrong were at the helm.
Shortly after docking, the combined spacecraft began to spin and roll uncontrollably. Armstrong disconnected from the GATV, hoping to regain control, but the maneuver only intensified the tumble.In a desperate move, the crew shut down the Orbit Attitude and Maneuver System (OAMS) and fired the re‑entry control system (RCS) thrusters to dampen the rotation. The thrusters worked, but they burned through 75 % of the RCS fuel.
Investigators later discovered that an OAMS thruster had been stuck on, short‑circuiting and causing the dangerous spin. The mission was aborted, and the planned spacewalk never happened.
7 Soyuz 5
Soyuz 5’s primary objective was to dock with Soyuz 4, a feat it accomplished without incident. The trouble began on the return leg, scheduled for January 18 1969.
When the crew attempted to separate the service module from the re‑entry capsule, the two sections stubbornly stayed together. The combined vehicle re‑entered nose‑first, generating extreme aerodynamic forces that dented the hatch nose and melted its seal, flooding the cabin with smoke.
Eventually the modules finally split, reorienting the craft, but the craft still hurtled toward Earth at a frightening speed. The parachute deployed correctly, yet the soft‑landing rockets failed, delivering a jarring impact that forced cosmonaut Boris Volynov forward, breaking several teeth.Volynov emerged into a bitterly cold Russian winter at –40 °C (–40 °F) and trekked through the snow to reach the remote village of Kustani, where he was rescued.
6 Apollo 12
Launching on November 14 1969, Apollo 12 was tasked with replicating the Moon‑landing success of Apollo 11. The crew—Dick Gordon, Pete Conrad, and Alan Bean—experienced a terrifying start.
Just 2,000 m (6,500 ft) above the pad, a lightning bolt struck the rocket at 36 seconds into flight, igniting a cascade of alarms. Sixteen seconds later, a second strike knocked out all primary systems, leaving the command module without power.Mission control engineer John Aaron suggested flipping the spacecraft from SCE (Standard Command Electronics) to AUX (auxiliary mode). The crew followed the instruction, restoring power and allowing the mission to continue.
This little‑known switch saved both the mission and the astronauts’ lives, turning a near‑catastrophic failure into a historic success.
5 Apollo‑Soyuz Test Project
July 15 1975 marked the first joint US‑Soviet spaceflight, the Apollo‑Soyuz Test Project. American astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Donald Slayton joined Soviet counterparts for a historic docking.
During re‑entry, the automatic landing system malfunctioned, forcing the crew to switch to manual mode for the parachutes. The craft shook violently, but the automatic system re‑engaged 30 seconds later.
Complicating matters, a pressure‑relief valve opened unintentionally, allowing external gases—including oxygen—to flood the cabin. The crew grew nearly unconscious; Brand actually lost consciousness for a brief period.
Stafford placed an oxygen mask over Brand’s face, reviving him. The astronauts spent two weeks in a Honolulu hospital but escaped any lasting health effects.
4 Soyuz T‑10‑1
Soyuz T‑10‑1 was slated to modify the Salyut 7 space‑station’s solar arrays. Just a minute before liftoff, a massive fire erupted on the launch pad, threatening the booster.
Veteran cosmonauts sensed the danger and engaged their harnesses, bracing for a potentially violent abort. The launch escape tower fired at full thrust, yanking the capsule clear of the inferno.
The rapid evacuation saved both crew members unharmed, averting what could have been a deadly disaster.
3 Mir
Mir’s tumultuous 1997 year featured two near‑fatal incidents. On February 23, a routine activation of an oxygen‑generating canister sparked a fire that quickly spread.
The crew donned gas masks and battled the blaze while their Soyuz return vehicle filled with smoke. The smoke eventually cleared, and no crew members suffered lasting health effects.
Just months later, on June 25, a cargo ship lost control during a docking test and collided with Mir, breaching the Spektr module and causing a dangerous air leak.
Quickly detecting the hissing, the crew isolated the breach by cutting cables and sealing hatches, preventing a catastrophic depressurization.
2 STS‑98
STS‑98 launched on February 7 2001 with a five‑person crew: Ken Cockrell, Mark Polansky, Robert Curbeam, Thomas Jones, and Marsha Ivins. The mission featured three spacewalks, the first of which turned perilous.
During the first EVA, Curbeam was attaching cooling lines when a small amount of ammonia crystals leaked into the suit. The toxic crystals clung to his suit, forcing him to spend an extra 34 minutes in direct sunlight to evaporate them.Jones swiftly decontaminated the equipment and the suit, then pressurized the airlock just enough to ensure no ammonia could infiltrate the cabin. Had the leak persisted, the mission’s success would have been in serious doubt.
1 ISS Expedition 36
On July 9 2013, during the 22nd spacewalk of Expedition 36, astronaut Luca Parmitano discovered his helmet filling with water—up to his mouth.
Initial investigations pointed to a leaking drink bag, but a subsequent EVA a week later revealed the water source to be a contamination and blockage within the suit’s cooling system. During that walk, over a liter of water surged into his helmet, making vision and breathing nearly impossible.
The EVA was aborted, and Parmitano and his crewmate returned to the ISS. The incident spurred new suit‑design protocols to prevent any repeat of this near‑drowning experience.