1962: The first test flight of NASA's new Centaur rocket stage ends in failure. The rocket exploded 54 seconds after lift-off due to a structural failure of the liquid hydrogen tank. Despite this setback, the Centaur would become the first rocket stage to successfully use liquid hydrogen—a high-performance technology essential for deep-space missions such as Voyager and New Horizons.

1971: Launch failure of the Mariner 8 probe. Intended to become the first artificial satellite of Mars to study its atmosphere and surface, it ended its journey in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after lift-off. This setback was compensated for a few weeks later by the success of its twin, Mariner 9, which became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

Image credits : nasa.gov