NASA's journey into space has had its share of tragedy

By Associated Press, 2/3/2003

stronauts and cosmonauts killed in the history of space exploration:

Jan. 27, 1967: Astronauts Virgil I. ''Gus'' Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee die when a fire sweeps their command module during a ground test at the Kennedy Space Center.

April 24, 1967: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov is killed when his Soyuz I spacecraft crashes on return to earth.

June 29, 1971: Cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev die during reentry of their Soyuz 11 spacecraft. A government commission disclosed that the three died 30 minutes before landing because a faulty valve depressurized the spacecraft.

Jan. 28, 1986: The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, intended to be the first teacher in space. Other astronauts killed were Francis ''Dick'' Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, and Gregory B. Jarvis.

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Feb. 1, 2003: Space shuttle Columbia breaks apart in flames. All seven aboard were killed: William C. McCool, Rick D. Husband, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, and Ilan Ramon, who was Israel's first astronaut.

This story ran on page A7 of the Boston Globe on 2/3/2003.
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