NASA History: Apollo 1 (Manned Space Flight Tragedies: Part 1)

Top Pic (L to R; Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee) 2nd pic (Apollo 1 Crew Patch) 3rd pic (Apollo 1 Command Module before the Plugs Out Test) Bottom Pic (Inside the Apollo 1 Command Module after the fire on Launch Pad 34-A)
All pictures from the NASA web site.

At about 6:31 p.m. EST, a flash fire broke out on launch pad 34-A. The space vehicle on the launch pad was AS-204, or what would latter be designated Apollo 1. The Command Module carried crewmen Roger B. Chaffee, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, and Lt. Col. Virgil "Gus" Grissom. All three men were killed in the resulting fire, which took place during the Plugs Out test on the launch pad, just a month short of the first maned Apollo launch.

It was latter found during a massive investigation that a faulty switch sparked behind a panel, and ignited the Oxygen rich air in the Command Module. During the Plugs Out test, the module was fully pressurised, to help simulate launch conditions. The fire engulfed the command module's interior in a matter of seconds. There are some speculation as to if the crew tried to open the door, but I don't think that was ever able to be determined. The grounds crew did try to open the door from outside of the space craft, but were unable to do so. An explosive door was taken out of the design for the Apollo command module, after it was found to have been the cause the loss of a Mercury capsule. In a strange twist of fate, the pilot of the Mercury capsule was none other than Gus Grissom. It was found that during splash down, the explosive bolts misfired, ejecting the door, and allowing the module to start filling with water. Grissom almost didn't make it out of the capsule before it sank below the water's surface.

The first manned Apollo mission was Apollo 7, which was crewed by the Apollo 1 back up crew. Apollo 7's crew: Capt. Walter Schirra Jr., Maj. Donn F. Eisele, Walter Cunningham. Their launch was a success, and proved that the technology worked, that would put men on the moon. There never were missions that were designated as Apollo 2, or 3. The launch of the first Saturn V rocket was called Apollo 4. A Saturn 1B rocket caring a Lunar Module into space was called Apollo 5, and the second launch of a Saturn V rocket was known as Apollo 6.

After the launch of Apollo 7, launch pad 34 was shut down, and a Plaque remains on the site to this day in dedication to the crew of Apollo 1. It reads in part, "In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so others could reach for the stars"

Post Script: I have decided to make this post the first, of at least, 3 parts about tragic events in the history of manned space flight. The next part will be about The Challenger, and the third will be about The Columbia. I'm also working on the possibility of a fourth part dealing with Astronauts that lost their lives in accidents outside of their NASA duties, but while still members of the NASA flight rotation.