Apollo 1 Space Capsule Fire Memorial – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
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PersonsMD
N 28° 31.305 W 080° 33.669
17R E 542939 N 3155080
This simple memorial, attached to the launch pad #34a where they died, honors the living memory of the three Apollo 1 Astronauts who died in a flash fire on 27 January 1967 as they were testing their space capsule for launch.
Waymark Code: WMH6RD
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2013
Views: 11
This memorial honors the courage and tragic end of the first Apollo Space Crew. On January 27, 1967 at 5:31 p.m. CST (6:31 local time) during a routine simulated launch test conducted here at Launch Complex 34 the crew of Apollo 1 (AS-204) perished in their command module in an oxygen fire.
The Crew Who Were Lost:
Lieutenant Colonel, Virgil I. Grissom USAF.
Lieutenant Colonel, Edward H. White II USAF.
Lieutenant Commander, Roger B. Chaffee US Navy.
The official location of the fire was on this launch pad, designated Pad 34-A (7). The launch vehicle involved was a Saturn -1B AS-204 (4) rocket.
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 Apollo 204 accident was a tragic event in the nation's space program.
After the tragic fire NASA initiated a full investigation led by Dr. Floyd L. Thompson. The results of the investigation drove specific recommendations leading to major design and engineering modifications, and revisions to test planning, test discipline, manufacturing processes and procedures, and quality control. With these changes, the overall safety of the command and service module and the lunar module was increased substantially. The AS-204 mission was re-designated Apollo I in honor of the crew.
To access this location you must purchase an admission ticket to the Kennedy Space Center and then purchase a guided tour ticket for the “Then and Now Tour” Total adult ticket cost is $80.21 as of October 2012.
In addition the 45th Space Wing also offers a free three hour tour to the general public on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The text of the memorial marker reads:
"Launch Complex 34
Friday, 27 January 1967
1831 Hours
Dedicated to the living memory of the crew of the Apollo 1:
U.S.A.F. Lt. Colonel Virgil I. Grissom
U.S.A.F. Lt. Colonel Edward H. White, II
U.S.N. Lt. Commander Roger B. Chaffee
They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of humankind's final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived."
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