Remembering the Apollo 1 tragedy 48 years ago

It was 48 years ago yesterday, Jan. 27, that every eye in the nation were turned to Cape Canaveral, Florida. That was where NASA's Apollo 1 rocket was wheeled into complex 34 for a launch rehearsal test before its scheduled Feb. 21 blastoff. That February launch was to be the first manned orbital test flight of the command capsule that would eventually take men to the Moon. Just moments before the countdown to the launch rehearsal finished tragedy struck.

The leading news story after that incident probably went similar to the follow. Breaking News: Shortly after 6:30 EST tragedy struck at Cape Canaveral, Florida taking the lives of three American heroes. United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonels Virgil Grissom & Edward White along with United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Roger Chafee where trapped in the Apollo command capsule as a fire consumed the craft during a launch rehearsal.

Virgil Grissom first enlist in the United States Army Air Corp in 1943 before his high school graduation the following year. He filed for and was given an honorable discharge after the end of WWII. It was then that he went on to Purdue University earning a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering. He then re-enlisted in the United States Air Force where he flew in 100 combat mission as a wing man. In 1953 he was sent back to the states where he to become a flight instructor at Bryan AFB. He also earned a bachelor degree in aeromechanics and served as a test pilot before receiving an invitation from NASA in 1958. After becoming one of the “Mercury seven” astronauts Mr. Grissom went on to pilot both Mercury 4 and Gemini 3.

Edward White's military career started as a student at West Point where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1952. After graduation he entered flight school as a second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. After returning from a stint in West Germany, Mr. White attended the University of Michigan where he earned his masters of science in aeronautical engineering in 1959. He went on to become a test pilot where logged over 3,000 hours of flight time. Mr. White was recruited into NASA as the 2^nd group of astronauts in 1962. His first mission was as the pilot for Gemini 4.

Roger Chaffee started out his career going through the ROTC route where in 1953 he enrolled in the Illinois Institute of Technology. He transferred from there to Purdue where he earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1957. That same year Mr. Chaffee was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy. In 1959 Mr. Chaffee earned his Naval pilot's wings and was assigned to photo reconnaissance squadrons as a Lieutenant Commander. During his time in photo reconnaissance it was rumored that Mr. Chaffee was one of the pilots that flew the secretive U2 spy plane. In January of 1963 Mr. Chaffee became one of the 3^rd group of astronauts and Apollo 1 would have been his first trip into space.