Apollo 1- Accident ;The tragic fire

On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the Apollo program when a flash fire occurred in command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight, the AS-204 mission. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, a veteran of Mercury and Gemini missions; Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the astronaut who had performed the first United States extravehicular activity during the Gemini program; and Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first space flight, died in this tragic accident. The hatch was held closed by several clamps which required extensive ratcheting to release. Under the best of circumstances, it could take at least 90 seconds to open. Since it opened inward, pressure had to be vented before the hatch could be forced open. It was nearly 5 minutes after the start of the fire before rescuers could get into the cabin. By this time, the oxygen rich atmosphere which had seeped into the materials of the cabin had caused the fire to spread rapidly. Although the ignition source of the fire was never conclusively identified, the astronauts' deaths were attributed to a wide range of lethal design hazards in the early Apollo command module. Among these were the use of a high-pressure 100 percent-oxygen atmosphere for the test, wiring and plumbing flaws, inflammable materials in the cockpit an inward-opening hatch that would not open in this kind of an emergency and the flight suits worn by the astronauts.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Apollo 1
• Apollo fire
• Virjil
• Grissom
• Edward H White
• Roger B . Chffee
• space accidents

[ROONTANG]

@1middlesbrough On behalf of all Australians I apologise for MoustachesAreEpic's self absorbed idiocy. He's clearly a little cunt of a kid. However, don't go bagging an entire nation and calling us convicts simply because of one bad apple.

[ROONTANG]

@MoustachesAreEpic Coming from a fellow Australian, idiots like you give our country a bad reputation. Grow up, learn some respect, don't be such a self absorbed twat.

[Zebonka]

From Space Captains to Captain Crunch :(

[travelsonic]

@ROONTANG

No, MustachesAreEpic contributes, b ut the people who perpetuate the idea that his opinions represent others besides himself are largely to blame too - and the ignorance of such truth that posts like this perpetuate.

[knightryderrwn]

@bill3209,

Absolutely....I remember seeing a program about it where another astronaut said, "Nobody ever stood up and said, 'Don't you people know what you've got, when you take 100% oxygen, and *PRESSURIZE* it?? You've got a **BOMB** sitting there!!"

[sj176]

@MoustachesAreEpic take a look at Germany its like the best in the world

[sj176]

@ROONTANG HA!

[MynameisElliott]

I lolled so hard at 0:40. Poor rocket.

[galangg]

Cosmored3, conspiracy theorist aren't you? So sad.

[105tw33k]

the fire was started by velcrow at 17 psi in pure oxygen enviroment and a short sercuit