How many people have died in space?

(In the statistics below, "astronaut" is applied to all space travellers to avoid the use of "astronaut/cosmonaut".) During spaceflight. As of March 2018, in-flight accidents have killed 18 astronauts, in four separate incidents. read more

Of the 18 astronauts/cosmonauts killed during official space flight missions, only 3 have died while in space, which is defined as being above 100 kilometres (62 mi). The rest were killed during the launch phase or during atmospheric reentry. A further 13 have been killed during training or rehearsal for space flight. read more

Only three people have actually died in outer space, as of 2014. During the 1971 flight of the Soyuz 11, three Soviet cosmonauts died when a ventilation valve ruptured, asphyxiating the crew and exposing them to the vacuum of space. read more