Within seconds, rising temperatures and pressures caused the CM pressure vessel to crack, releasing flames and smoke onto the launch pad’s service structure. At 6:31 p.m., a flash fire broke out inside the cabin. As they would on launch day, the astronauts and ground crews sealed the three hatches of the capsule and pressurized it with pure oxygen at 16.7 pounds per square inch (psi), slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. Their mission, officially called Apollo 204 but better known as Apollo 1, was to be the first piloted Apollo flight. 3, 1967 cover of TIME magazine honoring the lost Apollo 1 crew.Īstronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee, clad in their spacesuits inside their Command Module (CM) at Cape Kennedy’s Launch Complex 34, were conducting a countdown simulation ahead of their planned Feb. Middle: To honor the loss of the Apollo 1 astronauts, the American flag flies at half-staff in front of the Project Management Building at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 28, 1967, the day after the fire that killed Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil I. Left: A security guard stands watch at Launch Complex 34 at Cape Kennedy on Jan. They included a redesign of the Apollo spacecraft and management and safety culture changes. Congressional committees held hearings to fully understand the accident’s causes and NASA’s planned changes to prevent a recurrence. The board published their findings and determinations. NASA established an investigative board to determine the cause of the fire and, in the months that followed, the board identified both technical and management lapses that led to the accident. America honored the fallen heroes in funerals with full military honors. Chaffee in a flash fire aboard their spacecraft during a ground test on the launch pad. 27, 1967, with the deaths of Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil I. The nation’s Moon landing program suffered a shocking setback on Jan. The courage of Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee had won our esteem and we join in paying homage to their memories.” Radio Moscow “We in the Soviet Union are deeply grieved at the news of the tragedy at Cape Kennedy. “The accident that took the lives of three of our highly trained, skilled and courageous American astronauts is a tragic loss to our entire nation.” Former President Dwight D. … Although everyone realized that someday space pilots would die, who would have thought the first tragedy would be on the ground?” NASA Administrator James E. “We’ve always known that something like this would happen sooner or later, but it’s not going to be permitted to stop the program. … The United States will push ever forward in space and the memory of the contributions of these men will be an inspiration to all future space-farers.” Vice President Hubert H. “The deaths of these three brilliant young men … is a profound and personal loss to me. We mourn this great loss and our hearts go out to their families.” President Lyndon B. “Three valiant young men have given their lives in the nation’s service.
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