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The Crew of Apollo 1 |
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Died Jan 27th, 1967 |
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The Apollo 1 crew consisted of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Their mission was to test the flight characteristics and systems of the Apollo spacecraft. The flight could have lasted up to two weeks. This was flight test on a grand scale, and they were the perfect crew for the job. As test pilots and engineers, they were at the top of their craft. Each had thousands of hours of flight time. Grissom was one of the original seven astronauts, and a veteran of space flight in two previous programs, Mercury and Gemini. White was a veteran of the Gemini program. Chaffee was the youngest astronaut ever selected, and had not yet flown into space. On January 27th, 1967 they were engaged in a routine prelaunch test of the spacecraft. The test parameters called for the spacecraft to be pressurized, and the atmosphere was 100% oxygen. The pressure inside the spacecraft was higher than the pressure outside. These conditions caused their deaths. A short circuit in an electrical cable caused an electrical arc that started the fire. The crew reported the fire, and began to try to evacuate the spacecraft. The fire increased the pressure inside the spacecraft. The hatch could not be removed because the hatch had to be pulled inside, and the pressure inside was too high for them to do it. In the 100% oxygen environment, the fire spread rapidly and caused failure of the astronaut's suits. Death of the crew was from asphyxia due to inhalation of toxic gases. In the aftermath of the fire a seven-member board conducted a comprehensive investigation to pinpoint the cause of the fire. The report presented the results of the investigation and made specific recommendations that led to major design and engineering modifications, and revisions to test planning, test discipline, manufacturing processes and procedures, and quality control. Having read the report, my opinion is that NASA and North American (the builder of Apollo 1) shared responsibility for the fire that caused the death of the astronauts. Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee gave their lives because they believed in the exploration of space and that by pushing outward from the earth, mankind could reap untold benefits. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked directly their footsteps as they achieved the Apollo goal and became the first people to set foot on another world. |
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R.I.P. |
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 VIRGIL I. (GUS) GRISSOM LT. COLONEL, USAF NASA ASTRONAUT Commander, Apollo 1 Born April 3, 1926, in Mitchell., Indiana. He is survived by his wife Betty and their two children. "If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life." -Gus Grissom |
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EDWARD H. WHITE, II LT. COLONEL, USAF NASA ASTRONAUT Senior Pilot, Apollo 1 Born in San Antonio, Texas, on November 14, 1930. He is survived by his wife Patricia and their two children. "I think you have to understand the feeling that a pilot has, that a test pilot has, that I look forward a great deal to making the first flight. There's a great deal of pride involved in making a first flight." -Ed White |
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 ROGER B. CHAFFEE LIEUTENANT COMMANDER, USN NASA ASTRONAUT Pilot, Apollo 1 Born February 15, 1935 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is survived by his wife Martha and two children. "You'll be flying along some nights with a full moon. You're up at 45,000 feet. Up there you can see it like you can't see it down here. It's just the big, bright, clear moon. You look up there and just say to yourself: I've got to get up there. I've just got to get one of those flights." -Roger Chaffee |
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 (l to r) Chaffee, White, Grissom - this is the position they were in when fire swept through their spacecraft.  Interior of the spacecraft after the fire. |
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