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The Soyuz 11 spacecraft experienced uncontrolled decompression during preparations for reentry, killing Soviet cosmonauts Vladislav Volkov, Georgy Dobrovolsky and Viktor Patsayev—the only human deaths to have occurred in space.
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Soyuz 11
1971 Soviet spaceflight, first spaceflight to visit a space station, and fatal disaster
Soyuz 11 was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Uncontrolled decompression
Unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system
An uncontrolled decompression is an undesired drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as a pressurised aircraft cabin or hyperbaric chamber, that typically results from human error, structural failure, or impact, causing the pressurised vessel to vent into its surroundings…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Atmospheric entry
Passage of an object through the gases of an atmosphere from outer space
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be uncontrolled entry, as in the entry of astronomical objects, space debris, or bolides. It may be…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Vladislav Volkov
Soviet cosmonaut (1935–1971)
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally. Volkov and the two other crew members were asphyxiated on reentry, the only three people to have died in outer space.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Georgy Dobrovolsky
Soviet cosmonaut (1928–1971)
Georgy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky was a Soviet cosmonaut who commanded the three-man crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft. They became the world's first space station crew aboard Salyut 1, but died of asphyxiation because of an accidentally opened valve. They were the first and only…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Viktor Patsayev
Soviet cosmonaut (1933–1971)
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and was part of the third space crew to die during a space flight. On board the space station Salyut 1 he operated the Orion 1 Space Observatory ; he became the first man to operate a telescope…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)