THE APOLLO PROGRAM CAME AFTER THE GEMINI PROGRAM. APOLLO SPACECRAFT WERE BIGGER AND BETTER. NASA THOUGHT A MOON LANDING MIGHT HAPPEN IN 1967.
THREE ASTRONAUTS WERE CHOSEN FOR THE FIRST APOLLO MISSION—ROGER CHAFFEE, GUS GRISSOM, AND ED WHITE, THE KIND NEIGHBOR WHO HELPED THE ARMSTRONGS DURING THE HOUSE FIRE.
AS ALWAYS, THERE WAS A DRESS REHEARSAL A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE ACTUAL FLIGHT. THE THREE MEN WERE IN THEIR SPACE SUITS, STRAPPED INTO THE CAPSULE THAT SAT ATOP A GIANT SATURN ROCKET. A FRAYED WIRE SENT OUT A SPARK. IN SECONDS, THE SMALL CABIN WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. ALL THREE ASTRONAUTS WERE KILLED ALMOST INSTANTLY.
NASA ALWAYS WORRIED THAT SOMETHING MIGHT GO WRONG DURING A SPACE MISSION AND ASTRONAUTS MIGHT DIE. BUT FOR A SMALL MISTAKE ON THE GROUND TO CAUSE SUCH A TRAGEDY SEEMED SENSELESS. FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS RETHOUGHT EVERY STEP OF THE MOON LANDING. THE CONCERN FOR SAFETY MEANT A DELAY, BUT A NECESSARY ONE. |