Rare and sad film of astronauts preparing for launch on the disastrous first crewed flight of the Apollo 1 program has surfaced.
On February 21, 1967, the first low Earth orbital test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft was scheduled to launch from NASA’s home base in Cape Kennedy, Florida.
However, those familiar with history will know that the mission was never launched after a horrific cabin fire broke out on January 27 during a pre-flight test prior to the main event.
Three crew members were in the capsule at the time of the horrific fire, and they all sadly died.
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The Apollo 1 crew included Command Pilot Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.
The ‘plugs-out’ test mirrored what would happen when the flight was launched, which is not unusual.
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Well, footage of the three astronauts preparing for the test has recently reappeared courtesy to a post on X.
The footage shows Grissom, White, and Chaffee preparing for the mission with both fear and exhilaration.
Voiceover film explained that the group had spent hours in a simulator, and it was finally time for them to board Apollo 1.
The short video ends with the astronauts entering the Apollo 1 capsule for their mission.
However, problems arose practically as soon as the astronauts entered the capsule.
Hearing their last moments.
Last year, audio recordings from the moment a fire broke out in the Apollo 1 were revealed.
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In another video shared to X, one of the astronauts could be heard exclaiming, “Hey!” “There is a fire in the cockpit.”
“We have a bad fire,” another speaker said a few seconds later.
The horrified astronauts could be heard shouting as the tape faded off, capturing their awful dying moments.
According to the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, the last crew communication with those outside stopped ’17 seconds after the first indication of the commencement of the fire’.
How did the catastrophe unfold?
Because the cabin was filled with pure oxygen, the fire spread rapidly throughout the capsule and hatch.
And once the fire raged through the command module, leaving the three astronauts unable to escape, they tragically died.
The door opened five minutes after the fire began, but it was too late for the crew.
According to further studies, the fire was most likely ignited by ‘a spark from a short circuit in a bundle of wires’.
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