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Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, [1] the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbital test of the Apollo command and service module.
Jun 17, 2024 · Learn about the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts in 1967, and the investigation, redesign and rescheduling that followed. Explore the crew, the spacecraft, the launch and the legacy of the mission that never flew.
Feb 3, 2022 · Learn how a flash fire killed three astronauts in a spacecraft on the launch pad in 1967, and how NASA investigated and changed its program to prevent a recurrence. See photos, quotes, and documents from the tragic event and its aftermath.
- John Uri
Jan 26, 2017 · Learn how a spark ignited a flash fire that killed three astronauts during a simulated launch test in 1967. Discover how NASA responded to the tragedy and continued the Apollo program to land on the moon.
- The Astronauts
- Gone in An Instant
- The Aftermath and Changes
The Apollo 1 crew commander, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War. He was chosen was among NASA's first group of seven astronauts, the Mercury Seven. Grissom was America's second person in space in 1961. On that mission, Mercury's Liberty Bell 7, the hatch door blew for unknown reasons upon splashdown. Grissom ended up i...
Every astronaut in the Apollo program had flight experience, and many were test pilots. They were used to seeing machines under development and dealing with delays, and assessing the airplanes' readiness for flight. In the view of many of these astronauts, the Apollo command modulejust wasn't ready yet. Engineering changes were still in progress as...
A NASA review board found a stray spark (probably from damaged wires near Grissom's couch) started the fire in the pure oxygen environment. Fed by flammable features such as nylon netting and foam pads, the blaze quickly spread. [Infographic: How the Apollo 1 Fire Happened] Further, the hatch door — intended to keep the astronauts and the atmospher...
Learn about the astronauts, the fire and the investigation of the first crewed Apollo mission that ended in disaster in 1967. Find out how NASA redesigned the command module and rescheduled the next launch after the Apollo 1 accident.
On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the Apollo program when a flash fire occurred in command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight, the AS-204 mission.
