List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents

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, fatality 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.

As of 2024, there have been 19 astronaut fatalities during spaceflight that either crossed, or was intended to cross, the boundary of space as defined by the United States (50 miles above sea level).[1][2] 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 fatalities during spaceflight-related activities. As of 2024, there have been over 188 fatalities in incidents regarding spaceflight.

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

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