Remembering History: On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the space program. Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee had been selected as the crew for Apollo 1. During a practice launch countdown, a flash fire erupted inside the sealed cockpit. Within seconds the men were unconscious; Minutes later they were dead. Because of the pressure of the fire, and the fact that the spacecraft’s hatch opened inward, there was no hope of escape.

On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the space program. Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee had been selected as the crew for Apollo 1. During a practice launch countdown, a flash fire erupted inside the sealed cockpit. Within seconds the men were unconscious; Minutes later they were dead. Because of the pressure of the fire, and the fact that the spacecraft’s hatch opened inward, there was no hope of escape.

On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the space program. Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee had been selected as the crew for Apollo 1. During a practice launch countdown, a flash fire erupted inside the sealed cockpit. Within seconds the men were unconscious; Minutes later they were dead. Because of the pressure of the fire, and the fact that the spacecraft’s hatch opened inward, there was no hope of escape.