27 Jan 1967 would forever be marked as a black day not only in the history of NASA but also the history of human advancement into the space age. This day for all intent became notorious when the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle caught in a flash fire in its launch pad causing the loss of three astronauts Virgil I Grissom, Edward H White II and Roger B. Chaffee. The 10 week investigation that was followed post the unfortunate accident determined faulty electrical circuit in a highly combustible environment of the launch pad to be the cause.
On this day, we remember to those gave up their lives and their present for the purest pursuits of the human knowledge and science. The flight of the Apollo mission was one of the first manned deep space missions and also one of the most ambitious missions till date. Post its launch from the Cape Canaveral Air force Station Launch Complex, the mission was set on launching the astronauts on the surface of the moon and returning them safely back to earth after completion of mission on the moon.
As an aftermath of this Apollo 1 disaster, the US lunar space program was spent at least a couple of years back which included the grounding of the entire Apollo Saturn V missions. The safety and the various security measures against such preventable disasters, were brought to question. Post the Apollo 1 disaster, a number of changes were made on a large scale for all the other manned space missions of similar nature.
Replacement of several aspects of the launch vehicle, the space suits donned by the astronauts and the environment maintained inside the vehicle were some of them that ensure the tight step towards more safe space flights in future. On this day, we remember the brave heroes of the first space missions.