Timeline Wednesday 30 June 1971

Events on Wednesday 30 June 1971 4

• 1928 – 1971 Georgy Dobrovolsky (1928-1971) Died 30 June 1971, aged 43 Georgy Dobrovolsky commanded the Soyuz 11 mission and served as commander of the Salyut 1 space station crew. He died along with his crewmates during reentry when their capsule depressurized. He remains one of only three humans known to have died in space.
• 1933 – 1971 Viktor Patsayev (1933-1971) Died 30 June 1971, aged 38 Viktor Patsayev served as test engineer on Soyuz 11 and became the first person to work aboard a space station, Salyut 1. He died during reentry alongside his crewmates when their capsule lost cabin pressure. He was posthumously honored as a Hero of the Soviet Union.
• 1935 – 1971 Vladislav Volkov (1935-1971) Died 30 June 1971, aged 35 Vladislav Volkov was a Soviet flight engineer who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. He died with his crewmates aboard Soyuz 11 when a cabin valve failure depressurized the capsule during reentry. His death, alongside those of his crew, remains among the only fatal accidents to occur in space rather than during launch or landing.
• 1971 Soyuz 11 Disaster Cabin depressurization kills returning cosmonaut crew The three-man crew of Soyuz 11 died when a valve failure depressurized their capsule during reentry after 23 days aboard the Salyut 1 space station. Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev remain the only humans known to have died in space. The disaster grounded Soviet crewed spaceflight for more than two years.