9. The Remains of Russian Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov
Russian cosmonaut (astronaut, to Americans) Vladimir Komarov has the sad distinction of being the first human to die on a space mission. The captain of the ill-fated Soyuz 1, Komarov died when a parachute failed on re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere in 1967. The parachutes were not designed with spin taken into account, which led to critical failure.
Tragically, Komarov had time to realize his impending demise. United States radio listening posts in Turkey picked up Komarov crying and cursing the men who had sent him into space in a deficient craft. The Russian space agency was aware of the deficiencies in the capsule shortly after launch and attempted to help Komarov fix it through radioed instructions, but Komarov was sadly unsuccessful.
Komarov struck the earth at the same, full speed of a meteor due to the total lack of deceleration from the failed parachutes. Upon hitting the ground, the rocket boosters that were intended to slow the descent fired, exploding the entire Soyuz 1 and the already deceased Komarov. By the time rescue and fire crews arrived, the rocket fuel fire was so hot it was melting the spacecraft. Komarov’s charred remains were displayed in an open casket to illustrate the cost of human-piloted space exploration.