Long before the arrival of man on the Moon, space was already the source of many dreams, stories and conspiracy theories. One very famous among lovers of the theme is called “Ghost Astronauts”. According to her, the Soviet Union would have suppressed information about the death of cosmonauts on the edge of manned space flights.
Defenders of this thesis confabulate that, even before Yuri Gagarin, recognized as the first man to travel to space, some failed attempts were made, resulting in the death of some astronauts. However, even after the fall of the Soviet government, no information about it was released, leading to believe that it was really a conspiracy theory.
The Judica-Cordiglia brothers promoted conspiracy theory
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The Soviet authorities never publicly acknowledged the existence of any of the alleged disappeared, nor did the Russian government after the end of the Soviet Union. Supporters of the theory claim that the communists wanted to avoid bad publicity. In the context of the Cold War, for example, it would be a sign of weakness.
The Italian brothers Achille and Giovanni Battista Judica-Cordiglia were radio amateurs and were the first to broadcast audio that supposedly proved that the Soviets had covered up deaths in space during the 1960s. They would have captured conversations at the Bert Tower, a tracking station created by the duo for that purpose.
The recording in question was reportedly made on November 28, 1960. The brothers would have picked up an enigmatic message in Morse code: “SOS for the whole world”. In the coming years, they claim that other similar messages were recorded, evidence of Soviet secrecy. About 60 years later, everything remains unproven.
The conspiracy remains alive
(Source: Lost Cosmonauts/Reproduction)
There is a website on the internet that strives to keep the “Ghost Astronauts” theory alive. Called Lost Cosmonauts, the site maintains an active blog that publishes new information and conducts interviews, a debate forum, audios of the recordings of the Italian brothers and even a community dedicated to conspiracyists who like to play video games online.
Whoever ventures into the digital address will find detailed information with digital files and an organization worthy of a library. The initiative is also maintained by two brothers, Giovanni and Mario Abrate. With no charge or a lot of bureaucracy, a huge amount of information is available to internet users.
If you are patient, you can still follow some elaborate documentaries, available on the duo’s YouTube, which tells the entire trajectory of the Judica-Cordiglia and the conspiracy fueled by them. The site evokes a mixture of admiration and amazement for the commitment and dedication to a conspiracy theory.
What was the first life lost? How many more are gone?
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Vladimir Komarov is considered a hero by the Russians. He was the first Soviet astronaut to fly into space twice. Unfortunately, Komarov also went down in history as the first human to die during a voyage into space, but at an altitude below the space limit. Like him, another seven lives were lost in this way.
Officially, three lives were lost in space, also of Soviet cosmonauts: Georgi Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov. In June 1971, while they were aboard Soyuz 11, a valve malfunction led to the cabin’s decompression, killing the entire crew. As the spacecraft was en route to Earth, they could be buried.
In addition to the aforementioned deaths, 8 lives were lost in flights that did not reach space and 11 in mission training, totaling 30 lives lost in space missions or in their preparations. If you add deaths from accidents related to space exploration, the official count jumps to 241. It remains to be seen which number the conspiracyists believe is correct.
