Space Tragedies: NASA Astronauts Trapped in ‘Gas Cage,’ International Space Station Witnessing 1 Shortest Spacewalk, and More

Space is infamously hazardous. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, even described a project of his spaceflight company as "rocket science."

Sadly, throughout the illustrious history of space flight, humankind's quest to discover the world beyond Earth and comprehend the cosmos has resulted in a few mishaps.

Here are some of the worst catastrophes, coupled with some facts about the courageous individuals who ventured into space to further our scientific knowledge of the cosmos.

ISS Expedition 36: Shortest Spacewalk Ever After Water Leak in Astronaut's Suit

Britannica narrated that Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut of the European Space Agency, ingested a little amount of water on July 16, 2013, when he was carrying out work outside the International Space Station (ISS),

Parmitano's helmet unexpectedly started to fill with liquid during a spacewalk on the 36th voyage to the ISS. Because he was in space, the water was free to float about his entire head, eventually impairing his ability to hear or communicate with the other astronauts.

While it might have seemed like Parmitano's problem had a simple solution, the water was actually from a leak in a liquid cooling system and was not safe to drink. It doesn't seem that simple to drink water floating freely in the air, does it?

He was back in the ISS and out of his wetsuit after the spacewalk had lasted for more than an hour. He was uninjured and needed a new towel (which he received promptly). It was the second-shortest spacewalk in the station's history because of the mishap and subsequent cancellation.

(Photo : NASA via Getty Images)
IN SPACE - AUGUST 11: In this handout photo provided by NASA, the Canadarm2 (center) and solar array panel wings on the International Space Station are extended during the mission's first planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) while Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) was docked with the International Space Station August 11, 2007 in Space. During the 6-hour, 17-minute spacewalk Mastracchio and Williams attached the Starboard 5 (S5) segment of the station's truss, retracted the forward heat-rejecting radiator from the station's Port 6 (P6) truss, and performed several get-ahead tasks

ALSO READ: NASA-ESA-Roscosmos Spacewalk: European Space Agency's Samantha Cristoforetti to Experience First Extravehicular Activity

Apollo 1: NASA's 'Gas Cage'

Apollo was almost canceled before it ever began, Interesting Engineering noted. Unfortunately, the crew and technicians of Apollo 1 identified several problems before fire overtook the mission's crew compartment, killing the three astronauts on board in yet another instance of putting racing for glory ahead of safety.

NASA dubbed the mission Apollo 1 as a result of the disaster, even though it occurred during a mock launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee perished from asphyxiation after a stray spark caused a fire in the Apollo 204 module's habitat of pure oxygen. The hatch door's flaws rendered it difficult and sluggish to open, making it impossible to rescue the astronauts in time.

Soyuz 1: Cosmonauts Die In Parachute Failure

Mirror pointed out that Russian cosmonauts Viktor Patsayev, Vladislav Volkov, and Georgy Dobrovolsky died in a tragic accident in 1971.

After spending 22 days on the Salyut 1 space station, their Soyuz 7K-OKS spacecraft broke the previous record for the longest duration in space.

Despite ground control losing communication with the crew, their return to Earth seemed to have gone well. Still, recovery personnel discovered the three men dead inside when they opened the hatch.

It was discovered that the three crew members had suffocated to death. A malfunctioning valve had reportedly caused the spaceship to lose pressure, allowing critical oxygen to escape into space.

Thankfully, these terrible occurrences have resulted in safer space travel in the future. However, with the rapid growth of space tourism, there are fears that some businesses might disregard some of the lessons learned, including slowing down production and launch timelines when safety issues surface.

Here's to a bright future of safe and successful aeronautical travel where the wellbeing of the passengers comes first.