 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Encyclopedia :
A :
AP :
APO :
Apollo 1 |
|
|
Apollo 1Apollo One is the name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft after it was destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 atop a Saturn IB rocket. Its crew were the astronauts selected for the initial Apollo program mission: Command Pilot Virgil I. Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee. CrewBackup CrewThis crew became the crew of Apollo 9. This crew became the crew of Apollo 7. The accident
CauseThe fire is believed to have been caused by a spark somewhere in 30 miles (50 km) of wiring, leading to rapid combustion in the pressurized oxygen atmosphere. The Apollo 204 Review Board determined that a silver-plated copper wire running through an environmental control unit near the command module pilot's couch had become stripped of its insulation and abraded by repeated opening and closing of an associated access door. This weak point in the wiring also happened to pass near a junction in a ethylene glycol / water cooling line, which had developed a leak. The electrolysis of ethylene glycol solution with the anode made of silver resulted in a violent exothermic reaction that ignited the ethylene glycol mixture, which in turn was able to burn in the atmosphere of pure pressurized oxygen.[1] The fireThe fire spread quickly, melting through the astronauts' space suits. Grissom's and White's suits were later found to have fused together. It was confirmed that the crew had died of smoke inhalation rather than burns. According to the Report of the Apollo 204 Review Board - Appendix D Panel 11 (link provided below); Grissom suffered third degree burns on 36% of his body (1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns covered 60% of his body) and his spacesuit was 70% destroyed. White suffered third degree burns on 40% of his body (1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns covered 48% of his body) and his spacesuit was 25% destroyed. Chaffee suffered third degree burns on 23% of his body (1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns covered 29% of his body) and his spacesuit was 15% destroyed. The company that produced the command module, North American Aviation, had originally suggested that the hatch open outward and be able to open with explosive bolts in case of emergency. They had also suggested that the atmosphere be an oxygen/nitrogen mixture, like the air around us.
The Apollo 1 (AS-204) Saturn IB rocket was taken down from Launch Complex 34 and later reassembled at Launch Complex 37B. It was used to launch the Apollo 5 LM-1 into earth orbit for the first Lunar Module test mission. Then-Senator Walter Mondale headed a commission to investigate the fire. The investigation was seen by some as a witch hunt by Mondale to further his aim of diverting funds from NASA into social programs. MemorialThe site of the fire now bears two plaques for the 3 men who perished. One says:
LAUNCH COMPLEX 34
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SO OTHERS COULD REACH FOR THE STARS This plaque was featured in the film Armageddon. ControversyThe USENET newsgroups sci.space.history and sci.space.policy frequently see semi-anonymous postings, which accuse NASA and / or other US authorities of arson and conspiring to assassinate the crew of Apollo 1. It is often claimed NASA people held Grissom personally responsible for the loss of the Liberty Bell 7 capsule to sea and wanted to avenge this agency-wide loss of face. According to the Star tabloid, Grissom's son Scott Grissom, a pilot himself, demanded a renewed investigation into the Apollo-1 disaster back in 1999. Nonetheless, the above said newsgroup postings are generally considered as trolling by the USENET community. The "Apollo 1" website [1] which is owned by Scott Grissom, explicitly prosecutes the thesis that the Apollo 1 astronauts "died from an act of sabotage". See alsoList of space disastersExternal links
|
|
|
This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. |
|
| © 2008 Chamas Enterprises Inc. |
