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Rest in Peace
I will never forget them. I was an avid follower of the Space program when I was a kid.
I remember that day and where I was. I was 7.
And the Challenger Disaster was on January 28th,1986, 19 years and one day later.
Click the Pic
Rest in Peace
White, Grissom, Chaffee. RIP.
I’ll never forget that as long as I live. My husband and I were out to dinner for my 19th birthday. We grew up following the space program since both of us were raised in Houston. It was an exciting time......a new chapter in history. It was a very sad birthday and it’s the first thing I think of on this day. RIP Gus, Ed and Roger......we’ll never forget you......;(
Frontiers call out to daring men ...
A cry came from inside: 'Got a fire in the cockpit!'.
Astronaut Ed White struggled to open the hatch before quickly being overcome by smoke and fumes, along with his two crewmates. <> It was over for them in seconds.
Investigators determined the most likely cause was an electrical fire from defective wiring.
With its moon program in jeopardy, NASA completely overhauled the Apollo spacecraft after the tragic incident.
The redesigned capsule — with a quick-release hatch — carried 24 men to the moon; 12 of them landed and walked on its surface
Growing up in the sixties, we had a number of such moments to remember. My father worked in the aerospace industry and we always followed the space program. Among my earliest memories was watching the Mercury launches. The astronauts of that time were household names and heroes. It’s hard to believe it has been a half century since this tragedy.
RIP
Apollo 1 used a pure (100%) oxygen environment in the capsule, which was obviously a recipe for disaster. Apparently NASA thought it would give the astronauts more energy?
After the fire – which until 1986, was the only loss of life in the entire American space program – NASA changed the Apollo capsule atmosphere, mixed with nitrogen down to about 33% oxygen.
I know the anniversary is tomorrow but weird that again I read the article in a UK paper.
- Gus Grissom
I think in the end, NASA should have never flown the Block I Command Module with the astronauts aboard. They should have flown the Block I CM’s on remote flights and simulated flight conditions—and it’s likely the capsule may have experienced the fire hazard problem in space. North American Aviation had planned a lot of changes for what became the Block II capsule, but the Apollo 1 fire forced North American to make much more changes, notably removing a lot of exposed fire-prone materials, changing the hatch design to open outward, and switching to a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere when the capsule was on the ground.
We lived in Cocoa Beach then. My father worked at the Cape. I remember this very well. One of the few times I saw my father visibly shaken.
3 months to the day before I was born.....always haunted me when I would see the astronaut poster that was put out in the late 70s and those guys were off to the side in the background.
Feb 28th is the 51st anniversary of Elliot See and Charles Bassett dying in their T-38 trainer.
Apollo One Recording
Last 3 minutes
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AApollo_One_Recording.ogg
