Apollo 1
Also known as: AS-204 · Apollo I
- 1Originally designated as AS-204, the mission was intended to be the first crewed flight of the Apollo program.
- 2The mission was scheduled for a February 21, 1967, launch to perform low Earth orbital tests.
- 3A fatal cabin fire occurred during a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967.
- 4The incident took place at Launch Complex 34 at the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
- 5The fire resulted in the deaths of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee.
- 6The command module was completely destroyed during the accident.
Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon.
Connections1
Tragic precursor mission that forced critical safety redesigns
The 1967 cabin fire that killed three astronauts led to a complete overhaul of the Apollo Command Module's safety systems, which was essential for the program's eventual success.
Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbital test of the Apollo command and service module. The mission never flew; a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 on January 27, 1967 killed all three crew members—Command Pilot Gus Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee—and destroyed the command module (CM). The name Apollo 1, chosen by the crew, was made official by NASA in their honor after the fire.
S67-15704 (3 Jan. 1967) --- Transfer of Apollo Spacecraft 012 Command/Service Module (CSM) for mating with the Saturn Lunar Module (LM) Adapter No.05 in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. Spacecraft 012 will be flown on the Apollo/Saturn 1 (204) mission.Wikimedia Commons; NASA; http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo1/html/s67-15704.html; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons; Wikidata P18 (image)Portrait of the Apollo 1 prime crew for first manned Apollo space flight. From left to right are: Edward H. White II, Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom , and Roger B. Chaffee. On January 27, 1967 at 5:31 p.m. CST (6:31 local time) during a routine simulated launch test onboard the Apollo Saturn V Moon rocket, an electrical sh...Wikimedia Commons; NASA; https://images.nasa.gov/details/S66-30236 http://dayton.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/LARGE/GPN-2000-001159.jpg on the Wayback Machine at the Wayback Machine http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001159.html on the Wayback Machine at the Wa...Apollo 1 mission patchWikimedia Commons; NASA; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons; Wikidata P154 (logo image) 119 words