01/27/2026
Remembering three brave heroes whose ultimate sacrifice made reaching the Moon possible.
Ad astra per aspera!
Godspeed to the crew of Apollo 1. 👨🏻🚀🌎🚀💐❤
Command Pilot: Gus Grissom (age 40)
Senior Pilot: Ed White (age 36)
Pilot: Roger Chaffee (age 31)
Launch date: 21 February 1967
Date of accident: 27 January 1967
Facts:
* Apollo 1 was to be the first manned mission for the Apollo Program after the Gemini Program concluded.
* Donn Eisele was originally assigned as Pilot, but dislocated his shoulder twice during training in the "Vomit Comet" - the weightlessness training aircraft. He had to undergo surgery on 27 January 1966, and Chaffee was assigned as his replacement.
* The mission was to test the new Apollo Command Service Module (CSM) and orbit around the Earth for 14 days. The CSM would carry a TV camera to broadcast live to news networks and to allow flight controllers to monitor the CSM's instrument panel.
* The crew and other astronauts were concerned with the overall safety of the CSM, particularly the amount of flammable material in the cabin, mainly nylon netting and velcro.
* Grissom became so frustrated with how many changes the CSM had to go through during their training that he picked a lemon from a tree in his backyard and hung it on the simulator.
* The crew gave a framed picture to the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office manager, Joseph Shea, managing the design and construction of the CSM, saying "It isn't that we don't trust you, Joe, but this time we've decided to go over your head." (See Picture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1 #/media/File%3AApollo_1_prayer.jpg)
The Accident:
* On 27 January 1967, the crew and Mission Control conducted a launch simulation, known as 'Plugs-out Test'. This tests whether the spacecraft can operate nominally on internal power detached from all cables and umbilicals.
* Also being tested was whether the hatch would stay in place during the simulated launch. To save time, NASA decided to run the two tests simultaneously, with the crew in their suits strapped in their seats. (See Picture: https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/virgil-i-grissom-edward-white-and-roger-chaffee-inside-a-news-photo/3068129)
* After the hatch was sealed, the air in the cabin was replaced with pure oxygen at 16.7 psi, 2 psi higher than atmospheric pressure.
* There were communication problems. Grissom said into his microphone, "Jesus Christ! How are we going to get to the Moon if we can't talk between two or three buildings?" The simulated countdown was held at 5:40pm while the communication problem was troubleshooted. Countdown resumed at 6:30pm.
* At 6:31:04.7, Grissom was heard saying, "Fire!" followed by scuffling sounds. At 6:31:06.2, White was heard saying, "We've got a fire in the cockpit." After 6.8 seconds of silence, Chaffee was heard saying, "We've got a bad fire. We're burning up ... we're burning up!"
* On the monitors, witnesses said they saw White reaching for the hatch release handle.
* At 6:31:19, the CSM ruptured as the fire fed by pure oxygen caused the pressure to rise to 29 psi. Flames and gases outside the CSM prevented the rescue team from going near the CSM.
* From the first instance that Grissom yelled "Fire!", to the rupture of the hull, only 15 seconds had elapsed. (See dramatisation video: https://youtu.be/WWtWaNzNMPg?si=Xz6R_8ngTmRa4pBU)
* When the smoke cleared, it took the rescue team 5 minutes to open the hatch. Grissom had removed his restraints and was found lying on the floor of the spacecraft. White was found lying sideways just below the hatch as he tried to open the hatch. Chaffee was found strapped to his seat as procedures called for him to maintain communication until White opened the hatch.
* Due to the amount of melted nylon that fused the astronauts to the cabin interior, it took almost 90 minutes for their bodies to be removed.
* The primary cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by high concentrations of carbon monoxide. Although their bodies were severely burned, they were asphyxiated when the fire melted the astronauts' suits and oxygen tubes. Most of the burns were posthumous. (See Pictures below. WARNING: May be distressing to see)
Picture: http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/apollo1/gus.jpg
Picture: http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/apollo1/ed.jpg
Picture: http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/apollo1/chaffee.jpg
* It was later found that a spark from exposed wiring under Grissom's seat quickly spread through the cabin due to pure oxygen and highly combustible materials in the cabin.
* It was the tragedy that needed to happen. After the investigation, they found so many defects and unsafe procedures and materials. NASA had to overhaul the entire Apollo Program before the next manned mission.
Tragic Irony:
After Grissom flew his mission on the Mercury Program, his capsule, Liberty Bell 7 sank. Mercury capsules had exploding hatches, which would explode when the release lever was hit.
After splashdown, the hatch of Liberty Bell 7 exploded, and Grissom only just managed to scramble out. Grissom almost drowned.
Grissom maintained that the hatch malfunctioned and blew itself open, not caused by him egressing prematurely.
After Wally Schirra flew his mission, he waited for the capsule to be safely on board the carrier before egress. Schirra hit the release lever to blow the hatch, sustaining significant bruising on his hand. Grissom had no mark on his hand, vindicating him.
Because of this, Apollo was not fitted with exploding hatches. Instead, they were fitted with inward opening hatches.
Under 29 psi pressure of pure oxygen in the cabin, the strength of all three men would not be enough to open the hatch. Had the CSM been fitted with an emergency exploding hatch, the crew could have evacuated.
The thing that vindicated Grissom was the very thing that killed him.
At one point, had the schedule not slipped, a joint Gemini/Apollo 1 rendezvous (not docking) mission was planned. And Joe Shea, for years afterward, would say that he wanted to be in the CM cabin during the test, but it was not feasible due to short notice to set up a com-link.
There are contradicting accounts regarding Donn Eisele. Eisele's account is that Chaffee replaced him, but Deke Slayton's account from his autobiography states that White replaced him. Given that Slayton was in charge of crew assignments and had more involvement in the background machinations, I'm more inclined to take Slayton's account.
