The fourteen astronauts and cosmonauts listed on the memorial are:
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Theodore Freeman (Oct. 1964, aircraft accident)
Charles Bassett (Feb. 1966, aircraft accident)
Elliot See (Feb. 1966, aircraft accident)
Edward Givens (1967, automobile accident)
Roger Chaffee (Jan. 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
Gus Grissom (Jan. 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
Edward White (Jan. 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
Vladimir Komarov (Apr. 1967, re-entry parachute failure)
C.C. Williams (Oct. 1967, aircraft accident)
Yuri Gagarin (Mar 1968, aircraft accident)
Pavel Belyayev (Jan. 1970, disease)
Viktor Patsayev (Jun. 1971, re-entry pressurization failure)
Vladislaw Volkov (Jun. 1971, re-entry pressurization failure)
Georgi Dobrovolsky (Jun. 1971 re-entry pressurization failure)
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Apollo Lunar Surface Journal Reader Brian Lawrence notes that “unknown at the time, two of the original selection of 20 cosmonauts were also deceased before Apollo 15: Valentin Bondarenko – (fire during training, March 1961) and Grigori Nelyubov (train accident/suicide, February 1966).” Further, Lawrence notes that, while no more astronauts died in active service until the Challenger accident, “Jack Swigert died in December, 1982 of cancer and another six cosmonauts died between Apollo 15 and Challenger (Benderov, Shcheglov, Sorokin, Kononenko, Varlamov and Ivanov).
Although not officially an astronaut, I would like to add to this list the name of Capt. Milburn G. “Mel” Apt to this list, who died flying the X-2 research plane at Edwards Air Force Base on September 27, 1956 on the first manned flight to reach Mach 3.
Heroes
Luna Spacey
Luna Spacey, a distinguished space researcher, earned her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from MIT, specializing in exotic matter near black holes. Joining NASA post-graduation, she significantly contributed to the discovery of gravitational waves, enriching cosmic understanding.
With a 15-year stellar career, Luna has numerous published papers and is currently spearheading a dark matter research project. Beyond her profession, she’s an avid stargazer, dedicated to community science education through local school workshops.
Luna also cherishes hiking and astrophotography, hobbies that harmoniously blend her admiration for nature and the cosmos, making her a revered figure in both the scientific and local communities.
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