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Apollo 1 disaster... funerals...
Apollo 1 disaster... funerals...
Item # 560567
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January 30, 1967
THE PARSONS SUN, Kansas, January 30, 1967
* Apollo 1 disaster - funerals
* Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom - Edward White II - Roger Chaffee
This 10 page newspaper has a two column headline on the front page: "Silent, Grieving Tribute at Cape" with related photo. (see)
Other news of the day throughout. Little spine wear, otherwise in good condition.
wikipedia notes: At 1:00 PM (1800 GMT) on January 27th Grissom, White and Chaffee entered the command module fully suited, were strapped into their seats and hooked up to the spacecraft's systems in preparation for the plugs-out test. There were immediate problems. A sour "buttermilk" smell in the air circulating through Grissom's suit delayed the launch simulation until 2:42 PM. Three minutes later the hatch was sealed and high-pressure pure oxygen began replacing the air in the cabin.
Further problems included episodes of high oxygen flow apparently linked to movements by the astronauts in their flightsuits. There were also faulty communications between the crew, the control room, the operations and checkout building and the complex 34 blockhouse. "How are we going to get to the moon if we can't talk between three buildings?" Grissom complained in frustration over the communication loop. This put the launch simulation on hold again at 5:40. Most countdown functions had been successfully completed by 6:20 but the countdown was still holding at T minus 10 minutes at 6:30 with all cables and umbilicals still attached to the command module while attempts were made to fix the communication problem.
The crew members were reclining in their horizontal couches, running through a checklist when a voltage transient was recorded at 6:30:54 (23:30:54 GMT). Ten seconds later (at 6:31:04) Chaffee said, "Hey..." Scuffling sounds followed for three seconds before Grissom shouted "Fire!" Chaffee then reported, "We've got a fire in the cockpit," and White said "Fire in the cockpit!"
After nearly ten seconds of frenetic movement noises Chaffee yelled, "We've got a bad fire! Let's get out! We're burning up! We're on fire! Get us out of here!"[5][6] Some witnesses said they saw Ed White on the television monitors, reaching for the hatch release handle as flames in the cabin spread from left to right and licked the window. Only 17 seconds after the first indication by crew of any fire, the transmission ended abruptly at 6:31:21 with a scream of pain as the cabin ruptured after rapidly expanding gases from the fire overpressurized the CM to 29 psi.[7]
Toxic smoke from the leaking command module, along with malfunctioning gas masks, slowed down the ground crew trying to rescue them. There were fears the whole launch complex might become engulfed by flames. It took five minutes to open the hatch, a layered array of three hatches with many ratchets. By this time the fire in the command module had gone out. Although the cabin lights had remained lit the ground crew was at first unable to find the astronauts. As the smoke cleared they found the bodies but were not able to remove them. The fire had melted the astronauts' nylon space suits along with some of the air lines connecting them to the cabin's life-support systems. Grissom's body was found lying mostly on the deck. His and White's suits were fused together. The body of Ed White (who mission protocol had tasked with opening the hatch) was lying back in his center couch. White would not have been able to open the inward-opening hatch because internal pressure had risen too high. Chaffee's job was to shut down the spacecraft systems and maintain communications with ground control. His body was still strapped into the right-hand seat.
Category: The 20th Century
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