 |
| Gus Grissom, Ed White,
and Roger Chaffee, pose in front of launch pad
34 |
| 1967: Three astronauts die in Apollo 1
tragedy |
England have
Three American astronauts died when fire swept the Saturn rocket on its
launch pad at Cape Kennedy.
The space crew, flight commander Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger
Chaffee, were taking part in a rehearsal for the launch of the first
Apollo mission.
It is thought an electrical spark started the fire which spread quickly
in the oxygen-filled atmosphere of the capsule, killing the crew within
seconds.
Navy Lieutenant Commander Chaffee, aged 31, had never flown in space
before. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Grissom, 39, was the first American
to make two flights. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel White, 35, made
America's first space walk.
It is feared the disaster on launch pad 34 could delay America's plans
to put a man on the moon by as much as a year.
The three men were in the command module, mounted on the rocket as if
ready for launch, but the Saturn was not loaded with fuel.
At 1831 hours one of the astronauts was heard to say, "Fire, I smell
fire."
Two seconds later, another astronaut, probably Lt Col White said, "Fire
in the cockpit."
The fire spread through the cabin rapidly. The last communication from
the crew was heard just 17 seconds later.
The pressurised atmosphere inside the capsule meant the astronauts
would not have had time to open the hatch.
Under ideal conditions, the process takes about 90 seconds. It involves
venting the cabin to relieve the interior pressure which helps hold the
door closed.
It took technicians on the outside about five minutes after the fire
had started to open the hatch.
There will be a full investigation into what caused the fire, but
already questions are being asked about whether safety corners were cut in
the race to be first to the moon.
The astronauts knew there were risks involved. Lt Col Grissom became
the second American in space in the Liberty Bell 7. On splashdown, the
space capsule filled with water and sank and he almost drowned.
A few weeks before the launch pad tragedy, he wrote: "There will be
risks, as there are in any experimental programme, and sooner or later,
we're going to run head-on into the law of averages and lose somebody.
"I hope this never happens, and... perhaps it never will, but if it
does, I hope the American people won't think it's too high a price to pay
for our space programme."
The Apollo mission's maiden flight was due to blast off into space on
21 February.
