Overview
- On January 27, 1967, a preflight test at Launch Complex 34 turned fatal, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee inside the Apollo 1 command module.
- Investigations reported the blaze likely started in wiring beneath Grissom’s seat during a plugs-out test as a high-pressure pure oxygen atmosphere fed a flash fire and toxic smoke.
- An inward-opening, bolt-secured hatch and rising internal pressure blocked escape, and the crew died of asphyxiation within seconds.
- NASA paused crewed missions for about a year and ordered sweeping changes that included safer ground-test atmospheres, stricter flammability standards, and an outward-opening quick-release hatch.
- Launch Complex 34 was later deactivated and preserved as a memorial to the three astronauts.