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Based on the job White did on the Gemini 4 mission, he was selected as senior pilot for the first Apollo mission on March 21, 1966. Joining him on the mission would be command pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom and pilot Roger Chaffee.
The very first Apollo spacecraft, the AS-204, was built for spaceflight but never intended for a trip to the moon, as it lacked the necessary docking equipment. On January 27, 1967, the three astronauts entered the command module for a practice session while on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy, Fla. While inside the craft, something went wrong and a fire soon engulfed the cockpit.
Immediately prior to the accident, the crew members were running through a checklist of things they would do in space. Suddenly, Chaffee’s voice could be heard saying, “We’ve got a fire in the cockpit.” White attempted to open the hatch, however the two-piece hatch was a design which required the crew to undo several bolts to remove the inner section. The hot gases produced by the fire held the hatch shut, and within a few seconds, the air pressure had risen enough to prevent the crew from escaping, killing them.
The tragic fire that captured the lives of these three brave men was the first casualties of America’s space program. NASA halted all operations and immediately launched a comprehensive inquiry into its rules and procedures. Some of the changes that took place as a result of the fire, some of which still are in use today, included redesigning the hatch so it would open outward, replacing flammable materials with self-extinguishing materials, insulating plumbing and wiring, and replacing nylon suits with coated glass fabric suits.
The launching platform where the accident occurred, while dismantled, bears two plaques in the astronauts’ honor. One says, “They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of humankind's final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.” The other, “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice so others could reach for the stars. Ad astra per aspera, (a rough road leads to the stars). God speed to the crew of Apollo 1.”
White’s greatest legacy can be found in the path he set for others. As part of one of the first crews to aim for the moon, his example is an inspiration for all those looking to the stars.
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