The LuLac Edition #4,213, January 27th, 2020

SPACE TRAGEDY 53 YEARS AGO

Grissom, White and Chaffee.  (Photo: NASA) 

On Jan. 27,1967, three of the first group of NASA astronauts - Virgil Gus Grissom,Edward White and Roger Chaffee died during a routine ground test of the Apollo capsule, later named Apollo 1.
The astronauts suffocated when an electrical spark ignited a fire that engulfed their high-pressurized, pure-oxygen cabin. The Apollo 1 ground test had notbeen designated as potentially hazardous, the NASA History Web site said.
These were the first U.S. astronaut deaths associated with spaceflight. Sadly, that accident was not the last such tragedy.