January 27, 1967: Remembering Apollo 1

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Author	Topic: January 27, 1967: Remembering Apollo 1
astro-nut Member Posts: 970 From: Washington, IL Registered: Jan 2006	posted 01-27-2012 04:20 PM Today (Jan. 27, 2012) is the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy. Apollo 1 was scheduled for a February 21, 1967 launch — does anyone know what time the launch would of have occurred at (morning or afternoon launch)? What time would Apollo 1 have splashed down in the Pacific Ocean? What times did the Apollo 1 crew arrive at the launch pad and enter the spacecraft on January 27?
Tykeanaut Member Posts: 2216 From: Worcestershire, England, UK. Registered: Apr 2008	posted 01-27-2012 04:20 PM I believe the crew arrived and entered the spacecraft around 11 a.m.
Tom Member Posts: 1610 From: New York Registered: Nov 2000	posted 01-27-2012 04:21 PM Apollo 1 was scheduled to launch on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 1967 at 12 noon. Landing (in the Pacific) would have been on Tuesday, March 7; 13 days, 18 hours and 50 minutes MET.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-27-2012 04:25 PM quote: Originally posted by astro-nut: What times did the Apollo 1 crew arrive at the launch pad and enter the spacecraft on January 27? According to the National Air and Space Museum: The astronauts entered the Apollo at 1:00 p.m., Friday, 27 January 1967.
ColinBurgess Member Posts: 2043 From: Sydney, Australia Registered: Sep 2003	posted 01-27-2012 04:57 PM The three astronauts were fully seated and strapped in by 1:19 p.m., ready to begin the plugs-out test schedule.
Ironman One Member Posts: 73 From: Ormond Beach, FL USA Registered: Sep 2011	posted 01-27-2012 10:29 PM I was at Pad 34 tonight for the Memorial Service.
Rusty B Member Posts: 239 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Oct 2004	posted 01-28-2012 07:21 PM A little Apollo 1 trivia: During 1966 there was talk (as accessed in the Google newspaper archive) by some NASA management about a possible joint Gemini 12/Apollo 1 rendezvous mission. Also there was talk of a possible rendezvous with the Gemini 12 Agena that would be left in orbit after Gemini 12 landed. These plans were finally abandoned due to all of the schedule slips. Apollo 1 was scheduled to carry the first onboard TV camera (Mercury-Atlas 9/Faith 7 carried a slow-scan TV camera in 1963). The Apollo 1 prime recovery ship was going to be the carrier Essex. The mission was being referred to as "Apollo 1" (as opposed to AS-204) in newspapers as early a August 1966.
micropooz Member Posts: 1532 From: Washington, DC, USA Registered: Apr 2003	posted 01-28-2012 07:36 PM I remember that night when the news reports first started coming in, the newscasters did not know whether the prime crew (Grissom's) or backup crew (Schirra's) were in the capsule when the fire broke out. Gus was my fave astronaut back then (at that point I was 10 years old - he and I had matching flattop haircuts). I remember hoping that it was the Schirra crew... I was too young to realize that either way, this was a terrible disaster.
ea757grrl Member Posts: 732 From: South Carolina Registered: Jul 2006	posted 01-28-2012 10:00 PM quote: Originally posted by Rusty B: The Apollo 1 prime recovery ship was going to be the carrier Essex. Upthread it's mentioned the Apollo 1 splashdown would have been in the Pacific; however, Essex was an Atlantic Fleet carrier the last dozen years of her career. I've seen mentions in multiple sources that Essex would have been prime recovery ship and that splashdown would have been in the Atlantic, basically following what happened with Apollo 7.
Ross Member Posts: 479 From: Australia Registered: Jul 2003	posted 01-29-2012 06:09 AM Apollo 1 (AS-204) was scheduled to splashdown in the Atlantic. The Atlantic Recovery Force consisted of the USS Essex (the Primary Recovery Ship) and five other ships. In addition, there were three ships (two destroyers and an oiler) stationed in the Pacific. Full details can be found here.
Tom Member Posts: 1610 From: New York Registered: Nov 2000	posted 01-29-2012 08:48 AM quote: Originally posted by Tom: Landing (in the Pacific) would have been on Tuesday, March 7; 13 days, 18 hours and 50 minutes MET. This information was from David Shayler's book "Apollo: The Lost And Forgotten Missions." There was no mention of carrier (Essex) to be used however.
DChudwin Member Posts: 1110 From: Lincolnshire IL USA Registered: Aug 2000	posted 01-29-2012 01:50 PM I remember that night that there was a news bulletin about a fire in the Apollo 1 spacecraft. It took several hours, however, for the public to learn that it was in fact the prime crew aboard (Grissom, White, Chaffee) and that there were no survivors. In the initial confusion, there was no confirmation to the public that the astronauts had died. I suspect release of that information was delayed so the families could be notified. I was a teenager then and took it hard, especially since Ed White was one of the first astronauts I had met in person.
tfrielin Member Posts: 162 From: Athens, GA Registered: Feb 2007	posted 01-29-2012 03:55 PM I remember that Friday night well. I was watching the TV show The Time Tunnel, a sci-fi show on the ABC network and they broke in with a report that one astronaut had been killed in a fire on the pad. All I could envision then was, the rockets fired when this astronaut was walking by. I just couldn't conceive of a fire in the spacecraft. Then, after a few minutes they came back on and said all three astronauts were killed and for the first time said they died in the spacecraft. Gus was my favorite astronaut because he flew his Mercury flight on my birthday in 1961. I thought that was cool. A very sad day that Friday night forty five years ago.
Jay Chladek Member Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007	posted 01-29-2012 07:44 PM I found this clip of Jules Bergman announcing the news on ABC the next day. You could tell he was trying to be his usual cool self on camera, but his voice cracks a bit as the report goes on.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-27-2016 09:50 AM Remembering Apollo 1, 49 years later...
Kite Member Posts: 855 From: Northampton UK Registered: Nov 2009	posted 01-27-2016 10:53 AM I didn't realise that at the time it was referred to as Apollo 1. I thought that came later at the request of their wives.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-27-2016 11:06 AM Ed Hengeveld (heng44) shared this photo today on Facebook showing the CM 012 command module arriving at the Cape for launch already labeled "Apollo One" on its shipping case.
Skythings Member Posts: 247 From: Registered: Jun 2014	posted 01-27-2016 06:53 PM I was reading related articles today and I came across one which mentioned Roger Chaffee spearheaded the naming of the mission as Apollo 1 and NASA unofficially accepted the name. The mission was technically named AS-204 and Apollo 1 was in sense a nickname for the mission before the fire. It was not until after the fire in the spring of 1967, that NASA's Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, Dr. George E. Mueller, announced the mission originally scheduled for Grissom, White and Chaffee would be known as Apollo 1, and that the first Saturn V launch, scheduled for November 1967, would be known as Apollo 4.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-23-2017 10:40 PM Friday (Jan. 27, 2017) marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. Eric Berger with Ars Technica spoke with Walt Cunningham about that day in 1967. On a gray January afternoon in Houston, Walt Cunningham leaned into his Eames Lounge Chair and clasped his hands behind his head, the better to try and bend his thoughts back across five decades. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in a dull light that outlined Cunningham; it was a gloomy backdrop that mirrored the Apollo astronaut's melancholy mood. As a backup crew member for the initial Apollo mission, Cunningham recalled clambering into the first Apollo capsule on Jan. 26, 1967 for some pre-flight work. All had gone well, and no one thought the next day's test, when the capsule would rely on its own internal power for the first time, would prove fatal. "We always expected that we'd lose at least one mission before we landed on the Moon, because of how far we were reaching out," he said. "But we didn't expect it to be on the ground."
Fra Mauro Member Posts: 1624 From: Bethpage, N.Y. Registered: Jul 2002	posted 01-24-2017 11:51 AM During the accident investigation, did they ever discover why the comm was so poor between the blockhouse and the spacecraft?
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-24-2017 11:56 AM NASA's Johnson Space Center today (Jan. 24) held an employee program to remember the Apollo 1 crew (photos credit: NASA). The Apollo 1 Lessons and Legacies panel discussion reflected on how we can continue to grow and learn from the accident, which claimed the lives of the prime crew. The panel presentation was moderated by astronaut Nicole Mann and included former NASA astronaut and Apollo 1 backup Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham; former Flight Director Glynn Lunney; and Apollo 1 Project Engineer Gary Johnson.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-24-2017 12:04 PM quote: Originally posted by Fra Mauro: During the accident investigation, did they ever discover why the comm was so poor between the blockhouse and the spacecraft? According to the final report of the Apollo 1 Review Board: From 22:45 GMT until about 22:53 GMT the flight crew interchanged equipment related to the communications systems in an effort to isolate the communications system problem. This problem consisted of a continuously live microphone that could not be turned off by the crew. The live microphone condition was first noted by the test crew about 22:25 GMT and records indicate that the condition first occurred between about 20:57 GMT and 22:18 GMT. During the troubleshooting period problems developed in the ability of various ground stations to communicate with one another and with the crew. None of the communications problems appear to have had a direct bearing on the fire. As part of its findings, the board determined the "overall communication system was unsatisfactory" and recommended the "ground communication system be improved to assure reliable communications between all test elements as soon as possible and before the next manned flight."
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-28-2017 11:04 AM Photos from Friday evening's (Jan. 27) ceremony at Pad 34, marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire.
randy Member Posts: 2231 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999	posted 01-28-2017 11:41 AM After having read "The Astronaut Wives Club," I realize that the wives were also victims of the fire. May the crew and their wives rest in peace.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-28-2017 08:58 PM Lily Koppel, author of "The Astronaut Wives Club," attended the memorial at Pad 34 and wrote about it for The New York Times: Ms. Grissom, 89, was at the memorial again on Friday, wearing a denim jacket with a large Apollo 1 patch in patriotic colors. She joined old friends, family members, and NASA officials and veterans, among them Charlie Duke, who took part in the Apollo 16 moon landing. With the recent deaths of the astronauts John Glenn and Eugene A. Cernan and the sea changes in Washington, the gathering felt like a memorial for an era as well as for three men. At the ceremony, candles were lit for the dead astronauts by members of their families, including Cody Grissom, 22, a pilot, who is completing his last year at his grandfather’s alma mater, Purdue University. Representatives from the Navy, the Air Force and NASA spoke, and a Navy bugler performed taps after the sun went down.
WAWalsh Member Posts: 809 From: Cortlandt Manor, NY Registered: May 2000	posted 01-28-2017 09:25 PM A photo taken today at West Point. The Academy did not conduct any special ceremony yesterday.
kosmo Member Posts: 394 From: Registered: Sep 2001	posted 01-29-2017 10:23 AM In 2008, I was privy to a tour of the wind tunnels at Langley Research Center. Shown is a photo of the shed that the Apollo 1 CM was stored in after NASA's investigation. It's really nice to see that on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, at least some of the Apollo 1 CM is being displayed to tell the story of the sacrifice that was made on that day.
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 43576 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999	posted 04-19-2017 10:28 PM NASA video Apollo 1 Lessons and Legacies panel discussion at Johnson Space Center on Jan. 24, 2017.
David C Member Posts: 1039 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012	posted 04-22-2017 10:39 AM I'd never heard Gary Johnson's comments on the earlier ECS fire in 100% oxygen before. I wonder if that's been declassified yet.