NASA gives touching tribute to Apollo 1 crew 50 years after fatal launchpad fire

Image credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

New Delhi: 50 years after its moon programme's fatal Apollo launchpad fire that claimed the lives of three astronauts, NASA recently honoured the crew of Apollo 1 in a dynamic, new tribute that is part museum, part memorial and part family scrapbook.

On January 27, 1967, NASA astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were preparing for what was to be the first manned Apollo flight. They were sitting atop the launch pad for a pre-launch testing when a fire broke out crew module of the Apollo 1 capsule.

On Friday, January, 2017, NASA marked the 50th anniversary of the fatal fire with the first public display of the scorched hatch that trapped three astronauts inside their spaceship.

Called "Ad Astra Per Aspera - A Rough Road Leads to the Stars", the new tribute exhibit carries the blessings of the families of astronauts.

"Had that accident occurred in space, we'd have never known exactly what had happened," former Gemini and Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford said at a ceremony to mark the exhibit's opening.

The deaths of these "three great heroes ... helped save at least one other in flight, maybe two," he added.

The tribute was dedicated during a ceremony at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

The new tribute features displays that tell the full story of the lives of the astronauts, the fire and the painstaking work the NASA team put in to rebound from the devastating loss.

"Ultimately, this is a story of hope, because these astronauts were dreaming of the future that is unfolding today," said former astronaut Bob Cabana, center director at Kennedy. "Generations of people around the world will learn who these brave astronauts were and how their legacies live on through the Apollo successes and beyond."

Investigators discovered several problems with the Apollo capsule design that led to the fire, including an electrical wiring issue, a pure-oxygen environment and flammable materials throughout the crew cabin.

NASA made dozens of changes and resumed flying in October 1968, setting the stage for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing in July 1969.

NASA is preparing to turn over crew flights to the International Space Station to privately owned SpaceX and Boeing Co as early as 2018.

Friday's tribute also displays for the first time the three-section hatch from the Apollo 1 capsule that caught fire at Launch Complex 34 on January 27, 1967. The astronauts were not able to escape the smoke and blaze inside the spacecraft before they asphyxiated despite their own efforts and those of numerous pad crew members who braved thick fumes and scorching temperatures to try to get the men out.

The main focus was to introduce the astronauts to generations who never met them and may not know much about them or the early space program.

(With Agencies input)