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January 27, 1967 The Apollo I fire R.I.P.

1967: Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 tragedy Three American astronauts have died after fire swept through the Apollo spacecraft designed for a manned flight to the Moon during rehearsals at Cape Kennedy. It is thought an electrical spark started in the area holding oxygen supplies and other support systems. The fire spread quickly in the oxygen-filled atmosphere of the capsule, killing the crew within seconds. The space crew, flight commander Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee, were taking part in a test run for the launch of the first Apollo mission. Navy Lieutenant Commander Chaffee, aged 31, had...

<p>IT was supposed to be a routine launch pad test.</p> <p>But from the Apollo 1 command module at Pad 34 came a panicked voice saying, "Fire in the cockpit."</p>

THE FIRE "During a simulated countdown for mission AS-204 on January 27, 1967, an accident occurred in CM 012. This was a manned test with the prime astronaut crew on board. A fire occurred inside the command module resulting in the death of the three astronauts and as yet undetermined damage to the command and service modules." With these words, the nation's space program was split into two classifications: Pre-Fire and Post-Fire. 27 January 1967 The spacecraft, towering over 210 feet into the sky, sat on the launch pad at Launch Complex 34 on the Cape Canaveral Air Station. At...