Vladimir Komarov, the first human to die in a space flight, issued an eerie statement before his unnecessary death, at age 40.
Born in Moscow in 1927, Komarov worked as a test pilot and an aerospace engineer before being bestowed the honour of heading into space for the first time in October 1964.
On his first trip out of the Earth’s atmosphere, he commanded the Voskhod 1 - the first spaceflight to carry more than one passenger.
Three years later, in April 1967, he became the first Soviet cosmonaut to fly in space twice after being selected to orbit around the Earth in a Soyuz 1 spacecraft.
Not much is known about Komarov’s final mission, with details still being classified 57 years later.
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After completing his mysterious adventure, it was time for the man to re-enter the atmosphere and touch down on solid ground.
Unfortunately, he never made it back alive.
During the flight, the Soyuz 1 was seemingly beset by a variety of issues.
One of the craft’s two solar panels suffered a malfunction, meaning that Komarov couldn’t safely steer his vessel to its designated landing point.
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It’s said that the wing-like panels supplied his transport with energy to complete manoeuvres and steer.
Due to this significant failure, the spaceman was left in a dire situation.
Komarov was instructed to attempt re-entry anyway, but the solar panels weren’t the only faulty item on the spaceship.
When the vessel was navigated to the right altitude for re-entry, its parachute failed to deploy after becoming tangled.
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The ship crashed to the surface; a devastating smash decimated the ship, proving fatal for the brave explorer.
Remarkably, the US was able to listen in on the man’s final moments from surveillance posts in Turkey, capturing his now-famous audio.
Reports vary on what Komarov said, with one account claiming he talked to an officer called Alexei Kosygin.
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An official state transcript said he was calm and said: "I feel excellent, everything’s in order.”
However, another alleged account claimed the space traveller was furious with the malfunctions that were, by this point, clearly causing his death.
It’s also said he called the Soyuz 1 a ‘devil ship’ where nothing he touched would work properly.
By the time his mission ended in death, Komarov had been in space for just over 24 hours.
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The unnecessary death of Komaro has led him to be dubbed ‘The man who fell from space’ in popular culture.