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46 years ago yesterday, veteran astronaut Gus Grissom; first American spacewalker Ed White, and rookie Roger Chaffee were killed in a cabin fire during an Apollo 1 launch pad test. The first majorly-fatal accident in NASA’s history, the fire was caused in part by the cabin’s pure oxygen atmosphere and a number of other dangerous design flaws that were correct over the 20 month delay that followed the incident.
Today, NASA posted a picture of the trio for its image of the day, and we’d all do well to remember them too. That they died was certainly a tragedy, but their sacrifice and the sacrifice of those like them helps pave the way for safer, more cautious, but still ambitious feats of human engineering and exploration. And where would we be if we didn’t poke and prod at the limits of our own Earthly world despite the risks involved? So here’s to three heroes who helped build the foundation of modern spaceflight.
Image Credit: NASA
Rest in Peace, fine men.
*corrected
(oh, the irony…)
Without failure there is no opportunity to learn and better ourselves as a civilisation.
R.I.P.
And 27 years ago today was the Challenger incident. Sad times
Deaths like this has galvanised the space industry to better itself. True it is not without it’s faults and sometimes the unavoidable happens. But we have to remember.
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As tragic as their loss was and even though the space race was in its infancy, the mind boggles at the initial decision to use Oxygen. They wanted to use a pure gas to help regulate pressure, but to use a flammable gas is a shocking oversight that should have been apparent at the time, making the loss of these brave men all the more tragic.