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On January 27, 1967, Apollo-Saturn (AS) 204 (Apollo 1),
developed an electrical fire as it sat on the launch pad 34 at Kennedy
Space Center, Florida, . Ironically it was not launch time but a simulated
test. Had everything gone as planned the AS-204 was scheduled to be
the first Apollo program space flight with astronauts aboard the capsule, There
were three astronauts on board "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger B.
Chaffee who had been aboard running through a mock launch sequence. At 6:31 p.m.,
the fire broke out in the spacecraft and the pure
oxygen atmosphere intended for the flight accelerated the fire. Being fully
enclosed in their capsule the astronauts were exposed to the noxious fumes and died
of asphyxiation. It
took the ground crew five minutes to open the hatch and by then it was to late.
Edward White,
"Gus" Grissom, and Roger B.
Chaffee
A number of minor problems had cropped up which delayed
the test considerably and finally a failure in communications forced a hold in
the count at 5:40 p.m. At 6:31 one of the astronauts reported, "Fire, I smell fire." The Apollo hatch
was designed to only open
inward and was held closed by a number of latches which had to be operated by
ratchets. With the pressurized air and the expansion due to the heat, the air
inside was pressurized, pushing against the sealed door. Normally it took at least 90 seconds to get the hatch
open under ideal conditions. It took approximately 5 minute before the launch
pad crew was able to able to get the hatch cover open and by then it was too
late.
This accident caused the NASA engineers to redesign the hatch
covers in an effort to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. There is
never anyway to make light of a tragedy such as this, but their losses
were a wake up call that will continue help the space program be
safer. Overall the Apollo
Lunar Missions were a success and have contributed much to our
understanding of our closest celestial neighbor.
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![[Apollo 1 Logo]](../../../../../Countries/USA/States%20and%20territories/Florida/NASA/Photos/Apollo/ap1patch.gif)
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Grissom, 39, was the first American to make two
space flights.
