Friday, January 27, 2012

45 Years Ago


I just saw that today is the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, an horrific accident that changed the focus of the US space program.  The death of those three astronauts refocused the program to a more safety-conscious one, in theory saving the lives of countless other astronauts.  But that's only small solace.  Back in 2009, during a tour of Kennedy Space Center, I had the chance to visit the site of that launch pad.  It's still there, preserved for the ages, as a monument to those who died.  If you ever visit Cape Canaveral, take the History tour. I shared these same pictures back then, so I'm not posting anything new, but I thought it appropriate to remember the day somehow.


3 comments:

  1. Yesterday was the NASA Day of Remembrance. It's interesting that the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia accidents all happened within a week of each other. Challenger was Jan 28 1986 and Columbia, Feb 1, 2003.

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  2. I still have my parents copy of the LIFE Magazine regarding the Apollo 1 fire - pretty sombering photos.

    Hoping to visit KSC again soon. Thanks for posting.

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  3. Thanks for posting, great photos of a horrible tragedy, Larry!

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