IT’S Nasa’s Day of Remembrance and the space agency has posted a moving tribute video to all its astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of space.
This year’s remembrance day has fallen on the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy that resulted in the tragic deaths of three Nasa astronauts.
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Nasa posted a video to its Instagram account with the caption: “Every year, we pause to remember the members of the NASA family we have lost in the pursuit of exploration and discovery.
“This year, our NASA Day of Remembrance falls on Jan. 27, 2022, the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy.
“Astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Ed White perished when a fire engulfed their capsule during a pre-launch test.
“As we embark on a new era of space exploration while standing on the shoulders of giants, we remain committed to building a healthy culture of safety, and applying the hard lessons we’ve learned.”
Nasa’s moving two minute video also pays tribute to the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.
The video shows photos of all the astronauts who died and states: “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice so others could reach the stars.”
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What happened to the Apollo 1 astronauts?
Three astronauts were killed when a rocket burst into flames on the launchpad in Cape Caneveral in 1967.
Apollo 1 was supposed to be the first manned mission to the Moon, but it would take five more tries before Neil Armstrong made his lunar leap.
A fire broke out while the astronauts were sitting on the launchpad, waiting for a microphone glitch to be fixed.
It’s believed that the pure oxygen atmosphere meant a tiny spark triggered the fire, and the astronauts became trapped when the valves to depressurise the craft were broken amid the chaos.
Nasa flight director Chris Kraft was listening in when the fire broke out, and has previously recalled the chilling moment in graphic detail.
“I heard their screaming voices in the cockpit of the spacecraft,” Kraft previously told Ars Technica.
“I heard them scream that they were on fire.
“I heard them scream get me out of here. And then there was dead silence on the pad.
“Within minutes we knew they were dead, and we were in deep, serious trouble.
“Nobody really said anything for 15 minutes, until they got the hatch open. We were sitting there, waiting for them to say what we knew they were going to say.”
After inspection of the craft Nasa concluded that the fire broke out under astronaut Gus Grissom’s seat.
They think Grissom tried to depressurise the cabin to dampen the fire and in his haste, broke one of the door valves.
Physicians added that the crew died from smoke inhalation and almost certainly fell unconscious.
The crew entered the pod at 1pm on February 21, 1967.
The hatch was closed at about 2:42pm and were training before a volt anomaly was recorded.
Some eight seconds later, Grissom could be heard shouting.
Another voice can be heard saying “I’ve” or “we’ve,” followed by “got a fire in the cockpit”
The next transmission comes through as a muffled “I’m getting out” before screams can be heard.
There was a 17 second gap from when the crew reported the fire to their death, analysts concluded.
Chris Kraft was monumental in creating Nasa’s renowned Mission Control operation, which manages space flights.
Kraft was asked by Grissom’s widow to carry his coffin as one of the pallbearers at his funeral.
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In other news, Nasa has upgraded its asteroid hazard software with some key changes that should help it better detect potentially dangerous space rocks.
The US space agency has revealed stunning footage of a solar flare in action.
And, we looked into how living on Mars could change what humans look like.
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