Remembering the Apollo 1 disaster

Fifty years ago, on January 27, 1967, three astronauts perished in a launch pad flash fire aboard Apollo 1. A subsequent 18-month investigation led to safety improvements that helped pave the way for NASAÕs successful moon landings

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SATURN IB

68 metres

FIRST STAGE 

SECOND STAGE

PAYLOAD

ESCAPE TOWER


COMMAND MODULE

1pm: Crew board for launch rehearsal test

6:31pm: Faulty wiring beneath GrissomÕs couch ignites pure oxygen atmosphere inside cabin

Hatch: Astronauts can not unbolt complex two-part, inward-opening hatch Ð process that requires 90 seconds in normal conditions

Chaffee

White

Cabin ablaze: Within 17 seconds, rising air pressure ruptures hull. Astronauts die from asphyxiation


AS-204 launch vehicle: Not fuelled for test Ð smaller emergency response crew on duty

Apollo 11 to scale

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Apollo 1 crew

(L-R) Ed White, Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee

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INQUIRY IMPLEMENTATIONS

Flammable oxygen environment for ground tests replaced with nitrogen-oxygen mix

All flammable items removed from cabin

Hatch redesigned to allow astronauts to open it within seven seconds

Improved relations between astronauts and engineers to quickly enact design changes


Sources: NASA, Space.com, wire agencies 

Picture: NASA 

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