How the Soyuz 11 cosmonauts died in space

On June 30, 1971, the Soyuz 11 spacecraft returned to Earth after a successful mission to space. There was no fire, no crash, no distress signal during reentry. But when recovery teams opened the hatch, they found all three cosmonauts — Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev — seated silently in their positions. They had died during the descent. A vent valve had opened prematurely after orbital module separation, causing the cabin to depressurize in the vacuum of space, about 168 kilometers above Earth. With no pressure suits onboard, there was no protection. To this day, they remain the only humans confirmed to have died in space. And every astronaut who suits up for launch and reentry does so in part because of what happened to them. Video Credits: Archival Footage: Roscosmos TV — https://www.youtube.com/@tvroscosmos Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rySX3E0Drs Additional Imagery: NASA