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KOMPAS.com – After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the United States (US) entered a fierce competition for dominance in outer space.
The American and Russian space races were filled with many notable successes, including the American astronaut successfully walking on the Moon.
Space flight is a complicated journey that requires careful calculations and even more careful and careful actions.
Therefore, this space travel mission does not always run without obstacles and failures.
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Here are some of the disasters and accidents that occurred in space expeditions:
1. STS-51-L: bencana Space Shuttle Challenger
Reported from Britannicathe space shuttle Challenger disaster that occurred on January 28, 1986, which marked one of the most catastrophic days in the history of space exploration.
Just over a minute after the shuttle took off, damage to the spacecraft’s O-ring caused a fire.
This caused the thrusters to become unstable, then the plane went faster than the speed of sound and quickly began to break apart.
The accident left all the astronauts on board dead, as a result the shuttle program was suspended and an investigation team was formed.
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2. Lightning strikes Apollo 12
NASA
Your Apollo 12 astronauts
As Apollo 12 was taking off on November 14, 1969, the top of the shuttle was hit by two lightning strikes.
The first strike was even visible to onlookers, raising concerns about the safety of the flight mission.
Fortunately, however, the event did not cause any damage to the spacecraft’s systems and was able to depart for the Moon as planned.
On its return to earth, the spacecraft “dropped” in the ocean and a strong wave hit the fuselage. This caused the astronauts to jostle and swing from their parachutes.
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3. Leakage of toxic gas during the Apollo-Soyuz test project
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975 can be considered a feat of space travel and politics.
The project was the first joint space flight between the US and the Soviets, which also marked the end of the two countries’ space competition.
Two spacecraft, the American one carrying three astronauts and the Soviet one carrying two cosmonauts, met in orbit.
While returning to Earth, a malfunction occurred in the altitude control system, causing toxic nitrogen tetroxide to enter the cabins of the American Apollo astronauts.
They were rushed to hospital and developed pneumonia caused by the chemicals, but all recovered within weeks.
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4. Apollo 1 disaster
NASA
Illustration of Apollo space rocket launch.
Reported from Historythe first fatal accident in the history of US spaceflight occurred on January 27, 1967, during preparations for the first manned mission of the Apollo program.
A flash fire occurred in the Apollo 204 command module during a launch simulation at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The accident killed astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee due to asphyxiation.
A stray spark caused a fire to ignite in the pure oxygen environment within the module. In addition, the hatch did not have time to open to save the astronauts.
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5. The Columbia space shuttle orbiter disintegrates
While returning from the space shuttle program’s first mission in 1981, the veteran shuttle Columbia returned to Earth.
While entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the space shuttle orbiter broke into pieces and killed the seven astronauts on board.
It had previously been noticed that a small piece of foam insulation had detached from the fuel tank during launch.
But NASA doesn’t see that as a problem, because the foam has been released during previous shuttle launches, and without incident.
But on its return to earth, hot gases and smoke penetrated the damaged wing, causing it to detach and the rest of the shuttle to disintegrate.
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