The First Space Station In History, Salyut 1, Seen From Either Soyuz 10 Or, More Likely, Soyuz 11.

The first space station in history, Salyut 1, seen from either Soyuz 10 or, more likely, Soyuz 11.

Two crews visited Salyut 1 between April and June of 1971.  Soyuz 10 launched 23 April to visit the space station, but couldn’t achieve hard dock with Salyut and was forced to abort the mission.  On 6 June, the ill-fated Soyuz 11 made it’s way to Salyut 1, and successfully docked the following day.  The crew spent 23 days aboard the space station before being forced to return to Earth because of problems related to the station, including an electrical fire.  Unfortunately, a faulty pressure relief valve caused the Soyuz reentry capsule to depressurize and the entire crew was killed.  At the time, Soyuz crews were not required to wear pressure suits during reentry, and this was quickly changed following the disaster.

Georgy Dobrovolsky, Victor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov remain the only human beings to die in space.