StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Apollo 1 launch catastrophy - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name Student identification Course Institution Date (all above optional – if you need them) The Apollo I Launch Catastrophe The NASA space program aimed to place a manned space mission onto the surface of the moon before the USSR space program was able to do so…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.1% of users find it useful
Apollo 1 launch catastrophy
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Apollo 1 launch catastrophy"

identification (all above optional – if you need them) The Apollo I Launch Catastrophe The NASA space program aimed to place a manned space mission onto the surface of the moon before the USSR space program was able to do so. In order to fulfill this aim, millions of dollars were spent and the cost to human life was extremely high. Although the astronauts involved in these missions would have said that it was worth it, the question remains whether it was worth the cost in human life to have beaten the Cold War enemy.

One of the disasters that cost three men their lives was the catastrophe that occurred on the launch pad of Apollo I. Ironically, the accident occurred not in an actual space launch but in a simulation launch on Friday, January 27, 1967. Three astronauts, Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee, were on board the spacecraft, 012, by 13:00 they were seated on the couched in the spacecraft after their preparations were complete Everything leading up to the launch simulation had gone well.

There had only been short delays due to the communications systems, but according to the astronauts and the technical crew the other systems had been faultless. All 1000 crew members, as well as the three astronauts, had been preparing for months, and the process was anticipated to go smoothly. The system and the spacecraft were in excellent condition. The knowledge and familiarity of the crew and the astronauts with the spacecraft was faultless. Only one other problem (apart from the communications systems) was anticipated: the environmental system had been faulty but was by then in good repair.

One of the astronauts, Grissom, did report, though, that as they entered the capsule, a strange smell, like sour milk could be sensed. The astronauts were sealed into the capsule, and their biomedical sensors, communications systems, and the environmental control systems were checked. The cabin was then drained of all gases except oxygen, in preparation for the launch sequence. By six that evening, communication systems again caused some delay, and the actual launch sequence was delayed for ten minutes.

At 6:31, however, from inside the capsule, a shout was heard – reporting that there was a fire. Ground crew scrambled to get the astronauts out of the craft but as they watched, a sheet of flame could be seen. In the room adjoining the capsule, crew battled the flames, and tried to unseal the locks to open the entrances. The astronauts, it was later found, could not have explosively unsealed the entrances to the command capsule from the inside. Only five and a half minutes after the fire had been reported on the communications system, could the hatches be opened.

Inside, the astronauts’ bodies were burnt, but it was concluded that they had not died in the flames – they had died from inhaling toxic gases. At exactly the time that the three astronauts were being buried, and investigations into the accident were beginning, a second similar disaster occurred. Two men at Brooks Air Force Base were conducting experiments on animals in a space chamber, and a fire broke out without warning, spreading rapidly through the chamber and killing both men. While other astronauts had died in the general NASA space program, none of them had died in events directly related to the space flight program.

The difficulty of continuing with the program became to convince the federal government that it was necessary, and more importantly, that NASA had not been negligent in their preparations and caused the deaths. The reports after the catastrophe mention that conditions were extremely dangerous at the site of the test, but that NASA had been unaware of the danger. The procedures in the case of such emergency were not in place, and the crew had no way to get out of the capsule in the event of such an emergency.

The gases in the capsule and in the preparation rooms around the capsule were not anticipated to be flammable. In short, the success that NASA had been having with this type of environment – oxygen – had led to some carelessness in ensuring the safety of personnel. In addition, the safety and emergency procedures had not been fully planned nor trained for. Only after this disaster were recommendations made to reduce the flammable substances in capsules, and to ensure that the hatches could be opened in the case of emergencies of this kind.

Many changes were subsequently made to anticipate and prevent similar disasters, but the tragedy of three men dying has not been erased. Even the subsequent successes of the NASA space program cannot compensate for this and similar tragedies. The cost of the space program has been incredibly high. References Brooks, Courtney G., Grimwood, James M., and Swenson, Loyd S., Jr. (1979) Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. (Washington, DC: NASA SP-4205, 1979) available at http://history.nasa.gov/Apollo204/ Accessed June 12, 2011

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Apollo 1 launch catastrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/other/1425037-apollo
(Apollo 1 Launch Catastrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/other/1425037-apollo.
“Apollo 1 Launch Catastrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/other/1425037-apollo.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Apollo 1 launch catastrophy

The Apollo Program

hellip; Recuperating from the disaster that struck apollo 1, Apollo 7 was able to bring the Apollo program back in on the so-called Space Race against the Soviet Union and after Apollo 11, the United States of America under President John F.... It took only several months for Kennedy to convene a special session of Congress to deliver his speech in which he necessitated America to launch the first moon landing in history by the decade's end.... Jerry Ciacho October 25, 2012 The apollo Program and the Space Race As President Kennedy stated his famous speech in May 1961, he catapulted a new age in the history of mankind, the newfangled aim of sending men to the Moon....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Changes Prevailing in Global Environment

It is high time that every one should understand their responsibility in creating a better environment, both for the present and future.... It is necessary to understand how each… Loss of biodiversity, scarcity in supply of fresh water, ozone depletion and drastic changes in climate has a direct effect on human health....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Maldives Government Policy on Ecotourism and Green Policy

The essay 'Maldives Government Policy on Ecotourism and Green Policy' focuses on the attitude of the Government of the Maldives - a tropical state in the Indian Ocean, located on 26 ring-shaped atolls that consist of more than a thousand coral islands - regarding eco-tourism and green policies.... hellip; This paper is a diachronic comparative analysis of the Maldivian government's policies as far as tourism and conserving the environment is concerned....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Space Shuttle Challenger Accident

The Space Shuttle Challenger's explosion can be explained using the domino effect theory reiterated the Space Shuttle Challenger's launch environment was characterized as freezing cold.... There were several flood lights adding vividness to the launch area as the Space Shuttle was about to begin its ill-fated journey into space.... The managers believed that the launch should not be stopped.... The managers felt that the original launch date had been postponed for several times too long....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Apollo Hospitals in India

Reddy pioneered the first corporate hospital in India as apollo Hospital in the year 1983.... The case… The findings suggest that apollo has been a great success in the corporate hospitals market of India.... It has been successfully able to engage reputed doctors and surgeons who have contributed to The conditions in the industry have been tough and apollo has to make certain strategic decisions to expand its network.... apollo Hospital is a profit generating organization and it reported profits for consecutive ten years....
5 Pages (1250 words) Case Study

Mission Control (Apollo)

I used one day to read the book Mission Control, This is apollo, I read a half of it during the morning hours and finished the rest of the pages during the nighttime, it was easy to complete reading the book in one day since it only has 128 pages.... Mission Control, This is apollo I used one day to read the book Mission Control, This is apollo, I read a half of itduring the morning hours and finished the rest of the pages during the nighttime, it was easy to complete reading the book in one day since it only has 128 pages....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

Initially, Challenger had been scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) in Florida on January 22 at 14:42 Eastern Standard Time (EST).... However, the launch did not happen as had been planned due to delays in the preceding mission, STS-61-C(McConnel, 1986).... The launch was once more moved to January 25 owing to unfavourable weather conditions at the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) centre in Dakar, Senegal.... NASA decide to use Casablanca as an alternative TAL, but because it lacked facilities for night landings, the launch was once more rescheduled for the morning of January 26, Florida time....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment

Why Genocides Occur

This paper "Why Genocides Occur" discusses the term 'genocide' that was popularized following the Holocaust which resulted in the deaths of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis.... Much genocide has occurred since the Second WW.... Mankind can commit to greater atrocity than the act of genocide....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us