The Explorers' Club, № DCCCV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—In Memoriam Valentin Bondarenko
23 March 1961: Senior Lieutenant Valentin Bondarenko, V.V.S. (1937-1961) died of shock, having suffered third-degree burns over most of his body; at the time of the fire, Bondarenko has been in a 50% oxygen environment for ten days, an endurance experiment for the Soviet space program; the truth about his death wouldn't be revealed until 1980 in the West & not until 1986 in the Soviet Union.

Commentary: After his death, Bondarenko was airbrushed out of official photographs of the first Soviet cosmonaut class, Air Force Group 1.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: In Memoriam
Public Service Broadcasting, "Fire in the Cockpit" from The Race for Space (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.