Story: On January 27, 1967, the fledgling Apollo program suffers its first setback, a disaster which almost ends the American space program. During a seemingly innocuous ground test of the Apollo capsule's ability to function independently, a fire begins in the vehicle and burns out of control in the highly-pressurized, all-oxygen atmosphere. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee die when the life support systems of their sealed pressure suits are infiltrated by toxic smoke. In the already highly-politicized atmosphere of the space race, the finger-pointing begins immediately. An internal NASA review board begins an intense investigation of the charred Apollo capsule, as well as North American Aviation, the manufacturer contracted to build it. To make matters worse, Senator Walter Mondale sees the hotly-debated and very public accident as an opportunity to further his goal of ending the space program in favor of more Earthbound concerns. Before NASA can continue its quest for the moon, it will have to win back not only public opinion, but the confidence of the government.
Then Senator Walter Mondale expressed the latter very well, in the wake of the Apollo Fire, when he said, “I don’t give a hoot in hell for the program or your future. I intend to ride this thing for all the political advantage I can get.”