OTD In Space – January 27: Apollo 1 Fire

On January 27, 1967, three Apollo astronauts were killed during a routine preflight rehearsal at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The Apollo 1 fire was the first major deadly disaster in the history of the U.S. space program. Apollo 1 was supposed to be the first flight that NASA would conduct to prepare for a crewed landing on the moon. Less than a month before their planned launch date, a fire erupted inside the Apollo command module with all three astronauts trapped inside. Heat caused the air pressure inside the spacecraft to rise, making it impossible for the astronauts to open the hatch, which was designed to open inward. NASA did learn from the tragedy, and they redesigned their spacecraft to be much safer going forward.