Remembering the Apollo 1 Fire (Infographic)

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On Jan. 27, 1967, the crew of Apollo 1 was killed when fire engulfed their spacecraft during a ground test. The disaster stalled America's race to the moon for a year and a half.
On Jan. 27, 1967, the crew of Apollo 1 was killed when fire engulfed their spacecraft during a ground test. The disaster stalled America's race to the moon for a year and a half. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

NASA's first space disaster occurred on Jan. 27, 1967, when a fire broke out inside the cockpit of the Apollo 1 spacecraft while it was still on the launch pad undergoing a supposedly routine test. The fire killed veteran astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White, as well as first-time flyer Roger Chaffee, marking NASA's first fatal space tragedy. The Apollo 1 fire prompted an investigation that led to new safety checks for the Apollo capsules that eventually carried astronauts to the moon and back in the 1960s and 1970s.

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Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.