Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 17 2008
Soyuz 1 (Russian Союз 1, Union 1) was part of the Soviet Union's space programme and was launched into orbit at 00:35:00 on 23 April 1967, carrying a single cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir Komarov, who was killed when the spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight. Launched at 03:35 local time, this was also the first night launch of a human space vehicle.
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