The Apollo 1 Tragedy

th orbit with Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee on board. Tragically, however, the spacecraft was destroyed in a cabin fire during a launch pad test 50 years ago.

On January 27, 1967 Apollo 1 was sitting on the launch pad atop a Saturn 1B rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34, the precursor to the Saturn V. It was set to perform a “plugs-out” test, during which both the launch vehicle and the spacecraft were not loaded with fuel and all pyrotechnic systems were disabled. The task was merely to prepare Apollo 1 for its launch on February 21, 1967 by running through various system procedures.

During the second run through the checklist, the fire started. The 100% oxygen atmosphere fed the electrical fire, the increasing pressure rupturing the capsule wall. Shrapnel injured ground crew, while smoke billowed out to smother them. Within 26 seconds, the horrified ground team heard garbled voices yelling, and saw flame sweeping across the camera. It took five full minutes for the ground crew to peel open all three hatches, trading off as heat and smoke forced them to retreat.