Appolos first fatal fire almost ended

The Apollo 1 fatal fire was a tragic incident that occurred during a pre-launch test for the Apollo program, NASA's ambitious initiative to land humans on the Moon. On January 27, 1967, three astronauts, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee, were inside the command module of Apollo 1 at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34, preparing for a "plugs-out" test.

During this test, the command module was not directly connected to an external power source, simulating the conditions of a launch atop the Saturn I rocket. The astronauts were in their spacesuits, the module's hatch was sealed, and the atmosphere was pure oxygen at a high pressure. Unfortunately, this combination of factors created a highly flammable environment.