Soyuz 1 in Earth orbit, illustration. This spacecraft launched on 23rd April 1967 carry the Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov (1927-1967). The mission was intended to perform the first Soviet space docking. For political reasons, the launch was carried out despite known problems with the craft. Soyuz 1 suffered power and altitude control failures while orbiting. The power failures were due to one of the solar panels failing to unfold. The spacecraft's parachutes failed to deploy properly on re-entry on 24th April 1967, and it impacted the ground at 30-40 metres per second, killing Komarov instantly.