Apollo 1 tragedy
Astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee were killed when a fire erupted in their capsule during testing on the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967. The mission, originally known as SA-204, was later designated as Apollo 1.
Grissom, 40, the mission commander, was preparing for his third trip to space. White, 36, made history in 1965 as America’s first spacewalker. Chaffee, 31, was a Navy pilot and NASA rookie looking forward to his first space flight.
Mission training
Astronauts for the first Apollo mission, originally known as SA-204, practice in the Apollo Mission Simulator. (L-R) Roger B. Chaffee, Edward H. White and Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom.
Apollo 1 capsule
The 11,000-pound Apollo capsule is prepared for its mission.
Crew news conference
Command pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, at microphone, speaks at a news conference in Downey, California on August 4, 1966, announcing the Apollo spacecraft should be ready to go to Florida the following week for final tests. A mockup of the Apollo is in the background.
Grissom’s fellow crew members are Roger B. Chaffee, right, and Edward H. White, second from right. Two of the three back-up crew members are from left, David R. Scott and James A. McDivitt.
Space pioneers
Before he was named Apollo 1 commander, Virgil “Gus” Grissom was a one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts chosen in 1959. He flew in space as command pilot of Mercury-Redstone 4 (1961) and Gemini 3 (1965).
This May 1961 photo shows Grissom, left, with fellow Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Alan Shepard.
First astronauts
Apollo 1 commander Virgil “Gus” Grissom was one of the original Mercury program astronauts, seen here in their space suits in 1962.
First row (L-R): Walter M. “Wally” Schirra, Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter; Second row (L-R): Alan Shepard, Virgil Grissom, Gordon Cooper.
Grissom family
Astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom with his wife, Betty, and sons Scott (left) and Mark are photographed after the Gemini-Titan mission, March 25, 1965. Grissom, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and the second American to launch into space, died in a ground fire aboard Apollo 1 in 1967.
Apollo 1 mission patch
“The Patch That Never Flew” — NASA mission patch commemorating the three astronauts who died in a fie aboard Apollo 1: Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee.
Apollo 1 fire
Exterior of Apollo 1 spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Florida, following the deadly fire on Jan. 27, 1967.
Apollo 1 fire
The Apollo 1 capsule after the tragic fire that killed three astronauts — Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee — on Jan. 27, 1967.
Grissom funeral
The flag-draped coffin of astronaut Virgil I. Grissom is escorted by his fellow astronauts at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
NASA wreath
The grave markers of Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Roger Chaffee, from Apollo 1, are seen after a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Jan. 28, 2015, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.
NASA families
Family members placed a wreath at the Kennedy Space Center’s astronaut memorial to honor the 17 men and women who died in two shuttle disasters and a 1967 launch pad fire.
Left to right: Scott McAuliffe, son of Challenger “Teacher in Space” Christa McAuliffe; Alison Smith Balch, daughter of Challenger pilot Michael Smith; Kathie Scobee Fulgham, daughter of Challenger commander Francis Scobee; Sheryl Chaffee, daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chaffee; and Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Scobee, the Challenger commander’s son.