A Tribute to Apollo 1

January 27, 1967 was a very sad day for a ten year old boy growing up in the midst of the “space race.” On that day, 42 years ago, three NASA astronauts were the first to lose their lives in the pursuit of a mission, established by President John Kennedy in 1961, to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

The commander of Apollo 1 was Air Force Lt. Col. Gus Grissom. He had been one of the original seven astronauts chosen to participate in the United States space program in 1959. Gus was the second American in space inside a Mercury capsule in 1961. He and fellow astronaut, John Young were the crew of Gemini 3. This would be the first two-manned flight by NASA in 1965.

Ed White, another Lt. Col. in the USAF, was the pilot for Apollo 1. Ed had been an astronaut since 1962 and was NASA’s first spacewalker as part of the Gemini 4 mission of 1965.

The crew’s rookie was Roger Chaffee a Navy Lt. Commander. Having been selected to become an astronaut in 1963, Apollo 1 was to be his first mission.

The excitement surrounding another manned launch into space was at its peak that day. This marked the first of the Apollo missions that would be the ones that would ultimately take men to the moon. But, at 6:31 p.m. (EST) the unthinkable happened. The Apollo capsule, atop a Saturn 1B rocket, shuddered twice. A “Fire!” alarm rang from inside the capsule. It would take rescuers six minutes to get the inner hatch opened up. But by then it was already too late. All three men were dead from the resulting flash fire that filled the capsule with toxic fumes and carbon monoxide.

Every astronaut who has traveled into space since that fateful day has been safer for the sacrifice of these three men. An investigation following the tragedy brought about major design and engineering alterations to the future Apollo spacecrafts that would indeed make it to the moon by July 20, 1969.

In the aftermath, Flight Director Gene Kranz told his team at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston: "From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: 'tough' and 'competent.' 'Tough' means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do," he said. "'Competent' means we will never take anything for granted."

Each January, the NASA family pauses for a Day of Remembrance, honoring each of the astronauts of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia. And I wanted to add this salute to all those who have given their lives in the cause of exploration and discovery.

Ever yours regardlessly,

mike