After the Fire — What Happens Now
It's been two months since Grissom, White, and Chaffee died, and the investigation is ongoing. What comes next for the Moon program?
Read the full entry
The Investigation Continues
The Apollo 204 Review Board is still working. The preliminary findings are out and they are damning. The report lists 1,407 instances of workmanship problems found in the Block I cabin.
Read the full entry
What Went Wrong — What We’re Learning
The investigation is underway. The fire started in the pure oxygen atmosphere used in the Apollo cabin. The hatch opened inward and couldn't be opened under the internal pressure. There were flammable materials throughout the spacecraft. Reading these reports is difficult. Some of this seems like it should have been…
Read the full entry
The Worst Day
I wrote ten days ago that I was worried about Apollo 1. I am not going to feel any vindication about that. Three men are dead.
Read the full entry
A Terrible Friday Afternoon
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are dead. There was a fire on the launch pad yesterday afternoon during a ground test. I heard it on the radio on the way home from work. I had to pull over. I sat in the car for a long time before…
Read the full entry
Grissom’s Concerns
I've been reading between the lines of what's being reported about Apollo 1 and I'm worried. Gus Grissom reportedly hung a lemon on the spacecraft at some point.
Read the full entry
The Men Who Will Fly First
The crew of the first Apollo mission has been named for months: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. Their spacecraft is AS-204. They're scheduled to launch in February. I have been following Grissom since 1961 and White since his spacewalk. Chaffee is new to me. I looked him…
Read the full entry
Christmas with the Space Program
Christmas came and went and I found myself explaining the lunar module to Betty's brother, who had never heard of it and wanted to know if it was like a flying saucer.
Read the full entry
What I’ve Learned About Rocket Engines
I've spent several weekends this fall reading about rocket propulsion because I wanted to understand why liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are used instead of, say, gasoline.
Read the full entry
Gemini Is Over — And I Can’t Believe What We Did
Gemini 12 splashed down yesterday and the Gemini program is over. Ten missions. Ten crews. Every major skill required for a Moon landing has been demonstrated. Rendezvous, docking, long-duration flight, spacewalks. We started two years ago not knowing if any of this was possible. We know now.
Read the full entry