caption death_date death_place birth_place mission nationality article_title birth_date selection rank insignia image time name type occupation death_cause
1964 ussr postage stamp honoring vladimir komarov 24 april 1967 orenburg oblast , russian sfsr , soviet union moscow , soviet union voskhod 1 , soyuz 1 soviet vladimir komarov
 16 march 1927 air force group 1 polkovnik force -lrb- equiv . colonel -rrb- , soviet air 30px 40px file : soviet union-1964-stamp-vladimir mikhailovich komarov.jpg 2d 03h 04m vladimir mikhaylovich komarov cosmonaut engineer killed ground at high speed when spacecraft parachute failed and crashed into the
vladimir komarov

vladimir mikhaylovich komarov -lrb- ; 16 march 192724 april 1967 -rrb- was a soviet test pilot , aerospace engineer and cosmonaut in the first group of cosmonauts selected in 1960 .
he was one of the most highly experienced and well-qualified candidates accepted into `` air force group one '' .
komarov was declared medically unfit for training or spaceflight twice while he was in the program , but his perseverance and superior skills and his knowledge as an engineer allowed him to continue playing an active role .
during his time at the cosmonaut training center , he contributed to space vehicle design , cosmonaut training and evaluation and public relations .
he was eventually selected to command the first soviet multiman `` voskhod 1 '' spaceflight that presented a number of technical innovations in the space race .
komarov was later chosen for the rigorous task of commanding `` soyuz 1 '' as part of the soviet union 's bid to reach the moon first .
his spaceflight on `` soyuz 1 '' made him the first soviet cosmonaut to fly into outer space more than once , and he became the first human to die on a space mission -- he was killed when the `` soyuz 1 '' space capsule crashed after re-entry on 24 april 1967 due to a parachute failure .
however , because he died when the capsule crashed into ground , he is not considered the first human fatality in outer space .
