posted 01-04-2007 12:36 AM               

January 27, Saturday
10 - 11:15 a.m. - Apollo One 40th Anniversary Special - KSC

posted 01-12-2007 09:42 AM               

Remembrance Service to Mark 40th Anniversary of Apollo 1

On Saturday, January 27, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., The Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) will conduct a ceremony to honor the crew of Apollo 1 on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 1 accident. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation honors and memorializes all astronauts who have sacrificed their lives for the nation and the space program. The public ceremony will be held at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Speakers will include Lowell Grissom, brother of the late Lt. Col. Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, selected as commander of the first Apollo flight at the time of his death; Faith Freeman Johnson, daughter of the late Theodore Freeman, killed in the T-38 jet training accident at Ellington Air Force Base; Capt. John Young, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle astronaut; Col. Walter Cunningham, lunar module pilot on Apollo 7; Kathy Brandon, winner of the 2006 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award; William H. Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations; Bill Parsons, Kennedy Space Center Director; and William Potter, AMF Chairman of the Board. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation's President, Dr. Stephen Feldman, will lead the service.

The public is invited to attend the service. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will provide flowers for all ceremony guests and visitors throughout the day to place at the memorial.

Tragedy struck the Apollo program on January 27, 1967 when a flash fire occurred in the command module 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 AS-204 mission was redesignated Apollo I in honor of the crew.

The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, a private, not-for-profit organization, built and maintains the Space Mirror Memorial, which was dedicated in 1991 to honor all astronauts who lost their lives on missions or during training and has since been designated a National Memorial by Congress, and the Center for Space Education, a living memorial to the astronauts.

posted 01-12-2007 12:32 PM               

At 1:00 p.m. NASA Engineer Jeffrey Woytach will give a presentation "Space Heroes" about the roles these crews played in expanding our reach beyond the confines of Earth, in the exploration of the moon and in our quest for scientific knowledge.

posted 01-13-2007 07:05 AM               

There are now only two of us from North American Aviation that were on the fire that night still alive, Jim Gleaves and I, and I have doubts if Jim will go. He is not receptive to the idea and those of you who have read the account of the fire can understand why.

Jerry Hawkins and LD Reese passed on some years ago and we have no idea where Donald Babbitt is. He disappeared from the ranks many years ago, shortly after Apollo 13 blew up.

I hope to see many of the friends who I have kept in contact and others who have e-mailed me through the years.

As for the book, it is still in work and I was hoping to get it out in the spring.
It has proven to be one of the most challenging tasks that I have ever undertaken because it's not easy to write about something and keep the personal feelings that one gets when faced with all the memories, both good and bad at arms length.

posted 01-25-2007 10:11 AM               

On Monday, Jan. 29, we will pause to remember the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia. The Day of Remembrance commemorates not only the crews lost in NASA's space exploration program and their bravery, but celebrates advancements in human spaceflight since then.

• Apollo 1: (Jan. 27, 1967) Astronauts Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward H. White Jr.

• Challenger: (Jan. 28, 1986) Astronauts Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis and Sharon Christa McAuliffe

• Columbia: (Feb. 1, 2003) Astronauts Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Blair Salton Clark and Ilan Ramon

On Monday at 9 a.m., I invite all employees to observe a moment of silence in their workplace to remember our friends and colleagues. You are also invited to view a video memorializing the crew members, their goals and their inspiration. The video will run continuously throughout the day on JSC Cable channel 2.

At 2 p.m., Astronauts Ellen Ochoa, Steve Lindsey and I will accompany family members to the Memorial Grove where we will lay wreaths in their honor. The Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia families will always be a part of the NASA family and we will also honor their sacrifice. Throughout the day, please feel free to visit the Memorial Grove to celebrate the lives of all of these extraordinary individuals.

Please take a moment on Monday to pause and think about these great explorers who died doing what they loved in the service of their country.

Mike Coats

posted 01-26-2007 11:17 PM               

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy ignited an American dream when he challenged Congress to land "a man on the moon" and return "him safely to Earth." No one could have imagined then how the tiny town of Mitchell would play into that seemingly daunting task.

posted 01-26-2007 11:43 PM               

New exhibit

This month, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo I tragedy, Spring Mill State Park is unveiling a new exhibit at the Virgil I. Grissom Memorial.

The new exhibit was made possible thanks to a recent donation from Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom's wife, Betty.

Among the new items are Grissom's Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the American flag that draped his coffin during the burial service at Arlington National Cemetery and Fliteline medallions commemorating the Gemini 3 and Apollo 1 missions.

In addition to Congressional Space Medal of Honor, American flag and Fliteline medallions, the new exhibit also contains an Apollo 1 patch, a Gemini area permit, a Jaycees trophy and a photograph of President Lyndon Johnson watching one of Grissom's launches on television (signed by the president).

New labels have also been added to several of the framed items already on display.

The Grissom Memorial is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The memorial is inside Spring Mill State Park, about three miles east of Mitchell.

posted 01-27-2007 08:50 AM               

• Apollo fire 40 years ago still carries lessons (Huntsville Times)

• The Day the Astronauts Died (Washington Post)

• Remembering APOLLO 1 (Florida Today)

• Apollo 1 remembered: 'Fire in the cockpit!' (MSNBC)

• Forty years later, pad tech recalls Apollo fire (cS)

posted 01-27-2007 01:34 PM               

Cheers,
Matt

posted 01-28-2007 09:00 AM               

The day began at 8 am when I met up with and drove to the KSC VC with Judy Resnik's childhood friend Kandace Seiberling. Kandy lives in Orlando now and has made it a tradition to remember her friend often and always attends the events on the Space Coast.

We were guests at the breakfast and ceremony hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Delware North — the company that manages the Visitor Complex at KSC (and does a fantastic job doing so IMHO). Members of the Grissom, White and Chaffee families were there including Lowell Grissom (Gus' brother) and his family, Martha Chaffee (Roger's widow) and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and Ed White III and his family. Ted Freeman who was the first astronaut killed in the line of duty was represented by his daughter Faith and her husband. Also attending were Walt Cunningham, John Young and Bob Crippen and their wives. Bill Parsons, the new Director at KSC as well as Bill Gerstenmaier, Assoc. Administrator of NASA were there as well.

After breakfast we all walked to the Space Mirror, our national monument to our fallen astronauts.

During his remarks Lowell Grissom called for the Apollo 1 Command Module to be moved from its storage in Virginia back to Launch Pad 34 for permanent display.

John Young said his remarks would be shorter than his introduction and true to his word he remembered how unhappy Gus was with the Block 1 spacecraft. He said "Gus, why don't you tell them how unsatisfied you are with it. Gus replied if I tell them, they'll fire me." He credited the lessons learned after the fire for making the Apollo Program successful.

posted 01-28-2007 09:12 AM               

Faith Johnson recalled that since her father was the first astronaut to die in the line of duty, she didn't receive the same type of support she is now able to offer. She said her mother didn't speak about (Freeman's) accident for years. She doesn't focus on his loss but of his life and appreciates the good wishes she receives when she visits KSC.

I was struck that we fans of the space program remember our fallen as heroes and rightly so. But to John Young, Lowell Grissom, Walt Cunningham and Faith Johnson they were their brothers, coworkers, friends and fathers and the loss is that much harder.

Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Parsons honored them by saying that the NASA Family of today remembers all of their sacrifices by working as hard and diligently as possible so that accidents won't happen again. They noted that of the 2500 plus NASA employees that were at KSC in 1967 only 16 remain.

After the speeches Ed White III, Martha Chaffee and Bill Gerstenmaier laid the wreath at the base of the Mirror. At the conclusion of the ceremony we were invited to place a flower in the fence that protects the monument. I did so in honor of all of my friends who couldn't be here including all of you on cS. You were all there in spirit.

Following this ceremony Kandy and I drove to Titusville — to Sandpoint Park for the ceremony hosted by the Town's Flag and Memorial Committee. I have attended this ceremony every year since moving here in 1991. It has a warm small-town feel to it. The citizens of Titusville know they have a special responsibility because many of them, since the late 1950's, haved worked to make our space program possible and they have promised to never forget those who were lost.

There are plaques for each crew member of the Apollo 1, Challenger 51-L and Columbia 107 astronauts. (I still wish they would include astronauts who didn't die in their spacecraft)

Representatives of civic organizations are chosen to place a flower and a flag on each placque. Two high school students are chosen to place a flower and an apple on the plaque for Teacher-In-Space Christa McAuliffe. They rotate the honor between Titusville HS and Astronaut HS each year. Kandy and I placed the flower and flag on Judy's plaque.

Stephen Clemmons, left, with Lowell Grissom

Luckily a special visitor was introduced to the audience yesterday. Stephen Clemmons who as you know is working on a book and who has posted here on cS attended. I was able to introduce myself along with Kandy and friends from the Apollo 1 Foundation. We all stood around chatting and decided to go to lunch. So with Kandy and I in the lead, we all caravaned to a local restaurant and enjoyed a long lunch together.

At 4:00 pm Kandy had to leave to return to Orlando and the rest of us drove to Cape Canaveral Air Station for the unpublicized ceremony at Launch Pad 34.

posted 01-28-2007 09:17 AM               

It was my first time to go to Pad 34 and there is a special "vibe" to the place. I wouldn't say it is haunted, but you do get a sense of the souls who worked and died there. It is one of our space programs most hallowed grounds.

I didn't take pictures during the ceremony because I didn't want to disturb the sanctity of the event. I did take a photo of the lighting of the candles. Everyone who attends is given a small flashlight. If you unscrew the top the bulb is exposed and resembles a candle. After the speeches during the moment of silence, everyone lights their candles and then the bagpiper plays "Amazing Grace." There is more than a few moist eyes during this time.

The final picture I took is of the Moon, our goal during Apollo as seen through the ring of the launch pedestal of the pad structure.

Gus, Ed and Roger, you didn't get to fly the mission you had planned but I know — that you know what it's like to walk on the Moon.

Godspeed the crew of Apollo 1 —

posted 01-28-2007 12:38 PM               

I reminded my mate the other day about it being 40 yrs, he's 6 yrs older than me and can still remember that tragic day, I told him it a sad week for NASA.

Always remembered the crew of Apollo 1.

Ian

posted 01-28-2007 02:56 PM               

"My friend Larry Canin, who was the AFD in the MOCR, coordinating MCC's end of the KSC pad test, told me he never got their screaming out of his head. Never. He has since passed away and hopefully the screaming has, as well."

posted 01-28-2007 09:53 PM               

Godspeed Apollo 1, and to all our fallen astronauts.

Peter S

posted 01-28-2007 10:08 PM               

Thanks for the photos and the coverage of this event. After seeing Lowell Grissom one cannot help but think this is what Gus might look like today if he were still alive. The resemblance is very strong.

posted 01-29-2007 02:45 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by mjanovec:
After seeing Lowell Grissom one cannot help but think this is what Gus might look like today if he were still alive. The resemblance is very strong.

---

posted 01-29-2007 09:59 PM               

Did you get a copy of the program that was passed out at the service at Pad 34?

I was supposed to be at the memorial at KSC but when I sat hte alarm on my clock at the hotel the person who had the room before me appearent;y had set it to read 12 hours off...1:00 am would actually be 1:00 pm and vice versa. I set my alarm for 6:30 am but it did not go off because of this difference and I missed the servic at KSC...I was sick to day the least. Lowell asked me about it at the Cape and I had to sadly explain what occured.