Photos: 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Updated
On Jan. 27, 1967, astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom were killed when a flash fire occurred in their space capsule during training at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Anonymous
- Updated
Named by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center to be the primary crew for the first manned Apollo space flight are these astronauts in Houston, Texas on March 21, 1966. From left to right are Lt. Col. Edward H. White, II, USAF; Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, USAF; and Lt. Roger B. Chaffee, USN. Grissom and White are veteran space travelers, while Chaffee will be taking his first orbital voyage. Grissom will be command pilot. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- AP
- Updated
The Saturn 1 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral, Florida is seen on January 28, 1967, the day after a flash fire that caused the deaths the Apollo 1 crew. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil Grissom; Lt. Col Edward H. White, and Lt. Commander Roger Chafee were killed January 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1, AS-204 Moon mission. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- AP
- Updated
The charred interior of the Apollo 1 spacecraft after the flash fire that killed astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom, on January 27, 1967 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Photographed on Jan.28,1967 this severely damaged area is the most likely region for the start of the blaze. The area is near the floor in the lower forward section of the left hand equipment bay below the spacecraft's Environmental Control Unit. (AP Photo).
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
- Updated
A horse drawn caisson bearing the body of astronaut Virgil Grissom rolls through nearby Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Jan. 31, 1967. Walking beside the flag-draped casket as honor pallbearers are astronauts, from left on this side of caisson, Marine Col. John Glenn, Air Force Col. Gordon Cooper, Navy Cmdr. John Young; from left on far side of casket, Donald Slayton, Navy Capt. Alan Sheperd and Navy Cmdr. Scott Carpenter. Grissom was killed in the Apollo 1 fire on launch pad on Jan. 27. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Jim Kerlin
- Updated
Technicians and officials inspect the aluminum covered Apollo 1 spacecraft after it was lowered from its booster at pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, Florida on Feb. 17, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee, lost their lives when a flash fire raced through the spacecraft on January 27. For the next several days the vehicle will be examined in detail by investigators probing to find out what caused the tragedy. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Jim Kerlin
- Updated
Rep. Ken Hechler, D-W.Va., crawls from a spacecraft, a sister ship of Apollo 1, after entering for a briefing from Astronaut Frank Borman at Cape Kennedy, Florida on April 21, 1967. Rep. Hechler was a member of the House Sub-Committee on NASA oversight who was holding hearings at the Space Center on the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
- Updated
The charred interior of the Apollo I spacecraft shown after the flash fire that killed astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom, January 27, 1967. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
- Updated
The charred interior of the Apollo I spacecraft shown after the flash fire that killed astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom, January 27, 1967. (AP photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Harold Valentine
- Updated
The cone-shaped object high in the Saturn-Apollo rocket gantry is the shield-covered spacecraft in which three astronauts were killed when a flash fire struck during a countdown simulation, shown in Cape Kennedy on Jan. 28, 1967 when National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials escorted newsmen to within 1,000 feet of the rocket pad. (AP Photo/Harold Valentine)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Bob Schutz
- Updated
Five astronauts wait in Washington on April 17, 1967 to testify before a House investigating subcommittee in the probe of the fire aboard the Apollo I which took the lives of three follow spacemen at Cape Kennedy, Fla. From left are Frank Borman, James A. McDivitt, Donald K. Slayton, Walter M. Schirra Jr., and Alan B. Shepard. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Anonymous
- Updated
Astronaut John Bull, right, models the new Apollo pressure suit incorporating changes recommended by the NASA Apollo review board on Jan. 22, 1968. At left Astronaut Jim Irwin wears the replaced suit. Changes were made after the disastrous Apollo capsule fire which cost the lives of three astronauts. In background is a grid board used as reference during measurement and mobility tests of the suit. (AP Photo/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- stefano Coledan
- Updated
Former space commander and moonwalker John Young lays a flower at the dead astronauts memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 27, 2007, paying tribute to three fellow astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire 40 years ago. The three astronauts, Virgil Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee perished during a ground test less than three weeks before their scheduled launch. Grissom was the second American to fly in space in 1961. He flew aboard the Gemini 3 spacecraft in 1965, along with John Young. (AP Photo/Stefano Coledan)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- DOUG MILLS
- Updated
President Clinton presents Martha Chaffee, widow of astronaut Lt. Commander Roger Chaffee with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday Dec. 17, 1997. Edward White III, who received the medal for his late father Edward White II looks on at center. White and Chaffee, along with Gus Grissom where killed Jan. 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1 Moon mission. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- DOUG MILLS
- Updated
President Clinton presents Edward White III, son of late Apollo 1 astronaut Lt. Col. Edward White II, with a Congressional Space Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday Dec. 17, 1997. White, along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee were killed Jan. 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1 Moon mission. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- STR
- Updated
In this July 21, 1961 file photo, astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom poses next to the space capsule Liberty Bell 7, for his departure from Cape Caneveral, Fla. Grissom was among the crew who perished after a fire broke out inside the Apollo 1 module during a launch rehearsal on Jan. 27, 1967, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (AP Photo/File)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Anonymous
Named by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center to be the primary crew for the first manned Apollo space flight are these astronauts in Houston, Texas on March 21, 1966. From left to right are Lt. Col. Edward H. White, II, USAF; Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, USAF; and Lt. Roger B. Chaffee, USN. Grissom and White are veteran space travelers, while Chaffee will be taking his first orbital voyage. Grissom will be command pilot. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- AP
The Saturn 1 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral, Florida is seen on January 28, 1967, the day after a flash fire that caused the deaths the Apollo 1 crew. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil Grissom; Lt. Col Edward H. White, and Lt. Commander Roger Chafee were killed January 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1, AS-204 Moon mission. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- AP
The charred interior of the Apollo 1 spacecraft after the flash fire that killed astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom, on January 27, 1967 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Photographed on Jan.28,1967 this severely damaged area is the most likely region for the start of the blaze. The area is near the floor in the lower forward section of the left hand equipment bay below the spacecraft's Environmental Control Unit. (AP Photo).
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
A horse drawn caisson bearing the body of astronaut Virgil Grissom rolls through nearby Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Jan. 31, 1967. Walking beside the flag-draped casket as honor pallbearers are astronauts, from left on this side of caisson, Marine Col. John Glenn, Air Force Col. Gordon Cooper, Navy Cmdr. John Young; from left on far side of casket, Donald Slayton, Navy Capt. Alan Sheperd and Navy Cmdr. Scott Carpenter. Grissom was killed in the Apollo 1 fire on launch pad on Jan. 27. (AP Photo)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Jim Kerlin
Technicians and officials inspect the aluminum covered Apollo 1 spacecraft after it was lowered from its booster at pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, Florida on Feb. 17, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee, lost their lives when a flash fire raced through the spacecraft on January 27. For the next several days the vehicle will be examined in detail by investigators probing to find out what caused the tragedy. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Jim Kerlin
Rep. Ken Hechler, D-W.Va., crawls from a spacecraft, a sister ship of Apollo 1, after entering for a briefing from Astronaut Frank Borman at Cape Kennedy, Florida on April 21, 1967. Rep. Hechler was a member of the House Sub-Committee on NASA oversight who was holding hearings at the Space Center on the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Harold Valentine
The cone-shaped object high in the Saturn-Apollo rocket gantry is the shield-covered spacecraft in which three astronauts were killed when a flash fire struck during a countdown simulation, shown in Cape Kennedy on Jan. 28, 1967 when National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials escorted newsmen to within 1,000 feet of the rocket pad. (AP Photo/Harold Valentine)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Bob Schutz
Five astronauts wait in Washington on April 17, 1967 to testify before a House investigating subcommittee in the probe of the fire aboard the Apollo I which took the lives of three follow spacemen at Cape Kennedy, Fla. From left are Frank Borman, James A. McDivitt, Donald K. Slayton, Walter M. Schirra Jr., and Alan B. Shepard. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- Anonymous
Astronaut John Bull, right, models the new Apollo pressure suit incorporating changes recommended by the NASA Apollo review board on Jan. 22, 1968. At left Astronaut Jim Irwin wears the replaced suit. Changes were made after the disastrous Apollo capsule fire which cost the lives of three astronauts. In background is a grid board used as reference during measurement and mobility tests of the suit. (AP Photo/Pool)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- stefano Coledan
Former space commander and moonwalker John Young lays a flower at the dead astronauts memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 27, 2007, paying tribute to three fellow astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire 40 years ago. The three astronauts, Virgil Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee perished during a ground test less than three weeks before their scheduled launch. Grissom was the second American to fly in space in 1961. He flew aboard the Gemini 3 spacecraft in 1965, along with John Young. (AP Photo/Stefano Coledan)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- DOUG MILLS
President Clinton presents Martha Chaffee, widow of astronaut Lt. Commander Roger Chaffee with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday Dec. 17, 1997. Edward White III, who received the medal for his late father Edward White II looks on at center. White and Chaffee, along with Gus Grissom where killed Jan. 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1 Moon mission. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- DOUG MILLS
President Clinton presents Edward White III, son of late Apollo 1 astronaut Lt. Col. Edward White II, with a Congressional Space Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday Dec. 17, 1997. White, along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee were killed Jan. 27, 1967 when a fire erupted on the launch pad during a preflight test for the Apollo 1 Moon mission. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy
- STR
In this July 21, 1961 file photo, astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom poses next to the space capsule Liberty Bell 7, for his departure from Cape Caneveral, Fla. Grissom was among the crew who perished after a fire broke out inside the Apollo 1 module during a launch rehearsal on Jan. 27, 1967, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (AP Photo/File)
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