[writer33]

Thanks for posting. You almost forget that happened.

[JRandomFreeper]

God bless the men that fly and fight.

/johnny

[SpinnerWebb]

Notice it’s from the BBC. The DRM wouldn’t run such a story on true American heroes.

[skeeter]

These guys were a breed apart.

Its sad to see how far we as a people have fallen.

[Mr. K]

I can’t believe someone thought it was a good idea to use pure oxygen...

[dfwgator]

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

[safeasthebanks]

The HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon" did an excellent job on the episode covering this tragedy.

Way too much pure oxygen in that capsule was the main problem if I remember correctly.

[Tigerized]

We were a different country back then. This tragedy was considered a minor setback, and the race to the moon continued.

Today, we don’t even have similar programs. NASA has been “retasked” as they say.

I’d like to believe Americans still have a pair. But the evidence is mighty thin...

[Nextrush]

I turned on the color TV set in the living room to watch the prime time entertainment, they were new back then, but instead saw a special report on the tragedy.

Its the first big news event I remember watching on television.

[equaviator]

This was the event that as a 9-year old, made me realize how risky space travel was even though they hadn’t been to the moon yet.

[ralph rotten]

I was working with the Apollo 1 personal and guy that was in-charge of the capsule cover the in side of the capsule to protect it from any damage—WITH FOAM RUBBER -AND THEN ADD O2 - VERY STUPID — HE WAS STILL WORKING FOR NASA-—the foam rubber rubber burn temper was very low and any spark would set it off

[BluH2o]

Remember the date well. I was in the Marine Corps on a training exercise in Vieques PR. Heard the news on a transistor radio, informed some of my buddies of the tragic news and also informed the Gunnery sergeant in charge of our section. He had tears in his eyes when he heard the news. Up to that point I didn't have any feelings one way or the other where “Gunny” was concerned ... after his display of emotion my respect for him increased significantly.

[M Kehoe]

Good men. Very sad day.

May they rest in peace.

5.56mm

[onedoug]

From “Yes we can” to can’t.

[montag813]

Life was not kind to Virgil “Gus” Grissom. R.I.P.

[Minutemen]

A very sad event...R.I.P. men.

[Ready4Freddy]

Say what one will about what the designers should have known and done, but I really think the tragedy was born of ignorance, not short-cut taking.

At least as opposed to the seal issues that led to the destruction of the Challenger. Some folks should have gone to prison for that one.

[NappyOne]

This is a hard time of year for NASA because of their losses.

Apollo 1, January 27, 1967
Challenger, January 28, 1986
Columbia, February 1, 2003

I don’t remember hearing about the Apollo 1 loss, was watching the Challenger launch live when it happened, and was working on ISS in Houston when we lost Columbia.

February 1 was established as NASA’s Day of Remembrance after Columbia was lost.

The NappyOne

[I cannot think of a name]

Everyone in my age group seemed to have a favorite when the Mercury 7 were announced. Mine was Gus Grissom. The night he was killed I was at my job at a local grocery store. My dad was so concerned about my reaction that he drove to the store to tell me before I heard it from someone else. For decades I read everything I could on the accident trying to understand why?

More than 30 years later I found a book called “Angle of Attack” by Harrison Storms. Storms had kept quite for decades, but now he was dying of cancer and didn't care. Everything was laid out with dates, times, names, pictures, copies of correspondence, and so forth.

Even that many years after the event it was still incredibly difficult to read. Bottom line: none of the stuff in the capsule had squat to do with with happened. Almost everything burns in a 15.5 psi pure oxygen environment. NASA had known the ‘plugs out test’ (the only time the capsule was pressurized to the level) was dangerous as hell, but it saved weight and expense. North American considered NASA to be one of their best customers, and fell on their sword to keep the heat off NASA. The space shuttle contract was their reward. It was entirely a calculated gamble by NASA, and on this occasion they lost.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP to three American heroes.