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Disturbing audio from inside space capsule during the Apollo 1 disaster

Home> Technology> Space

Published 11:10 9 Dec 2023 GMT

Disturbing audio from inside space capsule during the Apollo 1 disaster

The three astronauts on board were all tragically killed during the test flight.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

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**Warning: Contains audio of three people trapped inside a capsule on fire**

Devastating audio from the disastrous first crewed mission of the Apollo program has been released.

On 21 February, 1967, the first low Earth orbital test using the Apollo 1 space vehicle, was set to launch from Cape Kennedy, Florida.

However, the mission never took off after a devastating cabin fire occurred on 27 January during a pre-flight test.

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Three crew members were inside the capsule and devastating audio has since been released of some of their final moments.

Command Pilot Gus Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee were inside Apollo 1 during the 'plugs-out' test.

The test mimicked what would happen when the flight was launched, the 'Command Module mounted on the Saturn 1B on the launch pad,' the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive states.

However, Saturn 1B was not fueled.

The team encountered problems almost as soon as they stepped into the capsule.

Not only was the test delayed as a result of some minor issues, but at 6:30pm - after the astronauts had been in the capsule for around five hours - a surge was recorded 'in the AC bus 2 voltage readings'.

The Apollo 1 crew.
Getty Images/ Space Frontiers

The recording is from a microphone worn by one of the astronauts and you can hear the astronauts realising there's a fire.

In a clip of the audio posted to X - formerly known as Twitter - by @Morbidful, one can be heard saying: "Hey! There's a fire in the cockpit."

"We have a bad fire," another voice can be heard saying a few seconds later.

The astronauts can then be heard shouting, before the audio eventually cuts out, with the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive reporting that the last crew communication with those on the outside ended '17 seconds after the first indication of the start of the fire'.

The fire killed all three astronauts.
Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images

As a result of the cabin being filled with pure oxygen, the fire spread quickly through the capsule and the hatch - which would have reportedly taken 90 seconds to get open and under 'ideal conditions' - was unable to be opened in time.

The three astronauts lost their lives as a result of the fire blazing through the command module, the hatch eventually opened five minutes after the fire started - but it sadly proving too late to save them.

Investigations into the tragedy revealed the fire was most likely caused by 'a spark from a short circuit in a bundle of wires'.

Multiple changes were subsequently made in the Apollo program, such as a using a nitrogen-oxygen mixture instead of pure oxygen and a new hatch which could be opened by those inside, not just from the outside.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677

Featured Image Credit: MPI/Getty Images / Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Topics: Space, World News, Twitter, Social Media

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a freelance journalist with words in Daily Express, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She is a former Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible.

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