Vladimir Komarov, often referred to as ‘the man who fell from space’ died after the Soyuz 1 spacecraft he was aboard crashed into earth at a speed of 140 kmph.
The Soyuz 1 craft was the first crewed space flight launched by the Soviet space program and the project had been plagued by a series of technical issues.
Komarov ultimately fell victim to these mechanical mishaps after the ship crashed into earth following a parachute failure in April 1967, making him the first known man to die from a space flight.
In the final panicked moments of the disastrous space mission, the last words of the cosmonaut were overheard by US operatives based in Turkey.
According to reports, Komarov was in conversation with Alexei Kosygin, a high ranking Soviet statesman.
The official transcript of Komarov’s conversation from the Russian State Archive records one of his final statements as: “I feel excellent, everything’s in order.”
In the 2011 book ‘Starman: The Truth Behind The Legend of Yuri Gagarin’, it’s claimed Komarov also said: “This devil ship – nothing I lay my hands on works properly.”
However, historians dispute this, reporting the final message received from the pilot as he descended was: “Thank you, tell everyone it happened.”
The mission journey lasted a little over 24 hours, during which period Komarov orbited the Earth 18 times.
The tragedy struck when, upon attempted reentry of the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship’s braking parachute failed to deploy 23,000 feet from the ground because the lines had become tangled.
Due to the secrecy of the Soviet Union, many of the details around Komarov’s death remain illusive.
In the years since his death, Komarov has been awarded several prestigious commendations for his service to the Soviet space program.
The cosmonaut was given a state funeral and his ashes were interred at Moscow’s Red Square.
