Date of Incident: January 27, 1967 · Intended Launch Date: February 21, 1967

— "Fire in the Cockpit!" —

These were among the last words from Apollo 1.

On January 27, 1967, the first scheduled Apollo flight, Apollo/Saturn 204, was undergoing routine launch pad tests. Soon after the crew was sealed inside the command module, a deadly fire exploded inside the cabin. Despite frantic attempts to rescue them, the astronauts succumbed in a matter of seconds. Following the tragedy, the Apollo program was shut down for almost two years. Although efforts to find the cause of the disaster didn't pinpoint the exact source of the fire, investigators uncovered numerous design flaws. The command module was redesigned, incorporating a variety of improvements that greatly improved safety for the missions to follow- including the elimination of the highly explosive pure oxygen atmosphere in the spacecraft. In honor of the crew, the mission was officially renamed Apollo I Its mission patch was placed on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11 during the first lunar landing.

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