List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents

"Death in space" redirects here. For death in specifically outer space conditions, see Space exposure.

Space Shuttle Challenger breaks up during its 1986 launch resulting in the death of all seven crew members.

This article lists verifiable spaceflight-related accidents and incidents resulting in human death or serious injury. These include incidents during flight or training for crewed space missions and testing, assembly, preparation, or flight of crewed and robotic spacecraft. Not included are accidents or incidents associated with intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, death or injury to test animals, uncrewed space flights, rocket-powered aircraft projects of World War II, or conspiracy theories about alleged unreported Soviet space accidents.

A piece of the Intelsat 708 satellite in Buck's restaurant.

As of January 2025, 19 people have died during spaceflights that crossed, or were intended to cross, the boundary of space as defined by the United States (50 miles above sea level). Astronauts have also died while training for space missions, such as the Apollo 1 launch pad fire that killed an entire crew of three. There have also been some non-astronaut deaths during spaceflight-related activities. As of 2025, more than 188 people have died in spaceflight-related incidents.

Astronauts Memorial Plaque at Cape Canaveral (2015)
The Fallen Astronaut memorial on the Moon includes the names of most of the known astronauts and cosmonauts who were killed before 1971

Astronaut fatalities

"Dead astronauts" redirects here. For the novel, see Dead Astronauts.
In the statistics below, the term "astronaut" is used to refer to all space travelers (to avoid the use of "astronaut/cosmonaut").

During spaceflight

As of January 2025, in-flight accidents have killed 15 astronauts and 4 cosmonauts in five separate incidents.[how?] Three of the flights had flown above the Kármán line (edge of space), and one was intended to do so. In each of these accidents, the entire crew was killed. As of December 2023, a total of 676 people have flown into space and 19 of them have died. This sets the current statistical fatality rate at 2.8 percent.

NASA astronauts who died on duty are memorialized at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida. Cosmonauts who died on duty under the Soviet Union were generally honored by burial at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow. No Soviet or Russian cosmonauts have died during spaceflight since 1971.

During training or testing

In addition to accidents during spaceflights, 11 astronauts, test pilots, and other personnel have been killed during training or tests.

Non-fatal incidents during spaceflight

Apart from actual disasters, 38 missions resulted in some very near misses and also some training accidents that nearly resulted in deaths.

Non-fatal training accidents

Main article: List of spaceflight non-fatal training accidents

Spaceflight-related accidents and incidents during assembly, testing, and preparation for flight of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft have occasionally resulted in injuries or the loss of craft since the earliest days of space programs. 35 accidents since 2009.

Non-astronaut fatalities

Fatalities caused by rocket explosions

This list excludes deaths caused by military operations, either by deliberate detonations, or accidental during production – for example German V-2 rockets reportedly caused on average an estimated 6 deaths per operational rocket just during its production stages. Over 113 fatalities.

Other non-astronaut fatalities

47 fatalities.

See also

Notes

References

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