Page 4 - Apollo 1 News Today

Astronaut, not a cosmonaut, would be the first to fly around the moon. >> it was one of the big gambles that nasa at the direction of the president took in order to establish that america was better than the soviet union. >> a big gamble indeed. and for all, it was less than two years before that apollo 1 demonstrated just how complex every mission was. nobody knew that better than frank hormen, the point man in the apollo investigation. nasa tapped him to man the latest mission. >> i was called...

Why couldnt they get out? >> the hatch was on the inside pressing against the hull. so to remove the hull, you had to turn it in. when the fire started, you have 50,000 pounds pressure holding that door in place. >> all three men were dead. >> we lived near the wife of one of the crewmember, pat white. >> bill anders had the unenviable task of breaking the news to the wife of edward white. >> and that was a pretty tough deal. when i stopped in front of the house, she saw me coming, and even thou...

Astronaut, not a cosmonaut, would be the first to fly around the moon. >> it was one of the big gambles that nasa at the direction of the president took in order to establish that america was better than the soviet union. >> a big gamble indeed. and for all, it was less than two years before that apollo 1 demonstrated just how complex every mission was. nobody knew that better than frank hormen, the point man in the apollo investigation. nasa tapped him to man the latest mission. >> i was called...

>> nasa marked three of the worst tragedies today. each occurring in the same winter week. in 1967, fire on the launch pad killed three astronauts on board apollo 1. including gus grisham, member of the original mercury program. in 1986, the shuttle acc challenger exploded killing all seven on board, including the first teacher in space. the tragedy witnessed by school children shook the nation. >> i know its hard to understand that sometimes painful things like this happen. its all part of the ...

Killed when the shuttle columbia burned up upon reentry. then president bush remembered the heroes who reached for the stars but never came home. >> our journey into space will go on. in the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. it is farther than we can see. there is comfort and hope. martha: steve harrigan is live at the kennedy space center in cape canaveral, florida. morning, steve. >> reporter: martha, were just a few minutes away here from the ceremonies to mark the day of remembranc...

Astronauts. we knew that the russians had cosmonauts that would follow like the dog. i think we expected that the mercury program would set the pace and would lead toward the apollo program but we were smart enough to fill the gap with the gemini program and that gave me through being in the right place at the right time an opportunity to fly on gemini 12. so i think, we, sort of lagged behind but it was gemini 10, 11 and 12 that caught up. but then of course we were set behind again he about th...

Any around the moon and back by a soviet soyuz, we certainly gained momentum. now we didnt actually follow the apollo program with a very enlightened program of catching up to where we had leaped ahead. and ive got a lot to say about mistakes that were made in designing a two-stage, fully reusable after apollo. we became a jobs program at nasa. how can you find enough jobs to spread around to enough politicians so that we can get votes for the space program. short term versus long term gains. jo...

"apollo 1"" astronauts died in a test run for the first moon launch. eight years ago next week, seven "columbia" astronauts died when the shuttle broke up on reentry. firefighters have just about extinguished a blaze at the norfolk, virginia, naval station. naval firefighters and city crews are on the scene, still no word on what start add the fire and so far no injuries reported. a stop me if youve heard this one before. freezing temperatures, snow piling up in the northeast. thats right, t...

Right, jamie, for cady and family, with time together becoming more infrequent, they squeeze in and soak up as much as every precious saekd lous. after launch, this saturn 5 center to see an old moon rocket. >> this is the final stage. >> i think ours is smaller. >> reporter: then, a trip over to launch complex 34. most people dont get to see this place. it is not on the tourist tour. it probably should be. >> they were breathing pure oxygen. it was a lot easier to have a fire. >> reporter: astr...

Center to see an old moon rocket. >> this is the final stage. >> you know what? i think our soyuz is smaller. >> jump a little. shout, straightforward. can you hear it coming back at you? >> then at complex, 34. most people dont get to see this place. its not on the tourist tour. it probably should be. >> they were breathing pure oxygen and it was a lot easier to have a fire. >> grissom, white and chafee died here. apollo 1, 1967. theres a weathered wreath and a plaque. thats it. >> they gave th...