15. The Space Race between the US and USSR had casualties of its own
The Space Race began with the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, but it really didn’t appear in the minds of the American public until John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The goal of reaching the moon first presented significant benefits to the winner; international prestige, technical superiority, advances in technology, and others. Kennedy acknowledged the daunting nature of the task, and the significant dangers it presented. And he was right, both sides suffered casualties during the race to the moon, and in the continuing space programs which followed. American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts perished, though prior to the first moon landing in 1969 no American had succumbed during an actual space flight. America had lost three astronauts in a spacecraft, the Apollo 1 fire, but it was during a training exercise on the launch pad.
Soyuz 1 plummeted to Earth following its reentry, its parachutes failing to open. The Soviets brought their spacecraft back to land, rather than water like the Americans. The ensuing fire effectively cremated the sole cosmonaut aboard, though he was most certainly taken out by the impact. When Soyuz 11 landed, the recovery team opened the hatch to find the three cosmonauts aboard still in their seats, completely lifeless. Subsequent investigations determined the spacecraft suffered explosive depressurization, asphyxiating the three as they reentered the atmosphere. And the world watched as the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch in January, 1986, ending seven American astronauts. The launch had been intended to be a display of American technical superiority. Instead, it demonstrated the dominance of political aspirations over scientific considerations.
