Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Grissom White Chaffee
Date of Incident: January 27, 1967 Intended Launch Date: February 21, 1967
"Fire in the Cockpit!"
On January 27, 1967, the first scheduled Apollo flight, Apollo/Saturn 204, was undergoing routine launch pad tests. Soon after the crew was sealed inside the command module, a deadly fire exploded inside the cabin. Despite frantic attempts to rescue them, the astronauts succumbed in a matter of seconds. Following the tragedy, the Apollo program was shut down for almost two years. Although efforts to find the cause of the disaster didn't pinpoint the exact source of the fire, investigators uncovered numerous design flaws. The command module was redesigned, incorporating a variety of improvements that greatly improved safety for the missions to follow - including the elimination of the highly explosive pure oxygen atmosphere in the spacecraft. In honor of the crew, the mission was officially renamed Apollo 1. Its mission patch was placed on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11 during the first lunar landing.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Disasters. A significant historical month for this entry is January 2003.
Location. 34° 42.674′ N, 86° 39.342′ W. Marker is in Huntsville, Alabama, in Madison County. Marker can be reached from Tranquility Base, half a mile west of Old Madison Parkway NW, on the left when traveling west. Located at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Tranquility Base, Huntsville AL 35805, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Schirra Eisele Cunningham / Borman Lovell Anders (here, next to this marker); McDivitt Scott Schweickart / Stafford Young Cernan (here, next to this marker); Armstrong Collins Aldrin (a few steps from this marker); Conrad Gordon Bean (a few steps from this marker); Lovell Swigert Haise (a few steps from this marker); Shepard Roosa Mitchell (a few steps from this marker); Scott Worden Irwin (a few steps from this marker); Saturn V (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntsville.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 848 times since then and 7 times this year. Last updated on July 15, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 24, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 4. submitted on October 25, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.