25 September 2023 , 03:00
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Terrifying audio has resurfaced from inside the space capsule during the Apollo 1 disaster.
Apollo 1 became one most infamous space race disasters in which three astronauts lost their lives in a simple training exercise. A fire erupted in the cockpit of Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967, causing the horrific deaths of NASA astronauts Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee.
The blaze broke out at Cape Kennedy when the astronauts were conducting a countdown simulation. The crew tried desperately to open the hatch and let themselves out but died from the poison gases swirling around in the cockpit.
It was alleged that Grissom had little faith in the ship and considered the design sloppy and unsafe - and just seconds before the disaster, he would have his crew take a mocking portrait which showed them bowing in prayer.
Allegedly, the high oxygen flow indicator repeatedly triggered Apollo 1’s master alarm, before unthinkable happened and the capsule caught fire. Horrific audio of the moment tragedy occurred has resurfaced - with Chaffee shouting ‘fire’ before all hell broke loose.
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The charred interior of the Apollo I spacecraft shown after the flash fire that killed astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Virgil Grissom (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Chaffee goes on to shout: "We’ve got a fire in the cockpit. Let’s get out. We’re burning up." The words were followed by screams of agony as they were engulfed by flames.
It is believed the Apollo 1 caught fire underneath a seat, and due to the hatch being air-tight and sealed so heavily, White was unable to open it in time to let the astronauts out.
In a statement, NASA said: "At 6:31 p.m., a flash fire broke out inside the cabin. The astronauts, in vain, attempted to open the inner hatch, while the pad crew valiantly worked to open the outer two hatches, their attempts hampered by dense smoke and heat. By the time they opened the hatches, the crew had already perished."
Cold war rivals in Moscow extended sympathies of their own, saying they were "deeply grieved at the news of the tragedy at Cape Kennedy."
The wreckage of the practice module for the aborted Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy, Florida (Getty Images)
Apollo 1 crew in training (NASA/Heritage Images via Getty Images)Coincidentally, two other deadly spaceflight accidents that occurred decades later happened around the same time of year. On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crewmembers. Tragedy struck again on Feb. 1, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia broke into pieces as it returned to Earth, killing another seven astronauts, reports Space.com.
To honour the brave astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty, NASA holds a series of ceremonies every year. In 2021, NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida unveiled a new Apollo 1 tribute in its visitor complex at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.