Gus Grissom
The Mercury and Gemini veteran who commanded Apollo 1 and died in the launchpad fire.
Gus Grissom is an American astronaut who served as Mission Command Pilot for the Apollo 1 mission. He had flown in both the Mercury and Gemini programs before his work on Apollo. Grissom, along with fellow astronauts Roger Chaffee and Ed White, perished in a flash fire that engulfed their command module on January 27, 1967, while training for what was to be a low Earth orbit shake-out mission for the United States' Apollo Space Program. Their capsule stood atop the Saturn-1B rocket docked to the launchpad gantry at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 34. The mission was later renamed Apollo 1 to honor the crew's work.
Quick Facts
- Affiliation
- NASA (United States)
Lore & Background
Gus Grissom's career began with the Mercury program, where he was one of the original seven astronauts selected by NASA. He then flew in the Gemini program, gaining experience that made him a natural choice for command of the first crewed Apollo mission, initially designated Apollo Saturn-204 (AS-204). The mission was set to launch on February 21, 1967, as a low Earth orbit test flight. During an in-capsule training exercise on January 27, 1967, a flash fire swept through the command module while it sat atop the Saturn-1B rocket at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 34. Grissom, along with Ed White and Roger Chaffee, died in the fire. Following the tragedy, the mission was renamed Apollo 1 to honor the crew's work. Three hills on Mars — Grissom Hill, White Hill, and Chaffee Hill — were named to memorialize the crew of Apollo 1, though as of January 2020 the International Astronomical Union has not officially designated the hills with the names of the astronauts.
Reader's Guide
Gus Grissom was a NASA astronaut who flew in both the Mercury and Gemini programs before being selected as Mission Command Pilot for Apollo Saturn-204 (AS-204), the first crewed Apollo mission. The mission was intended to be a low Earth orbit shake-out test for the Apollo Space Program, launching from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 34 on February 21, 1967. During a training exercise on January 27, 1967, a flash fire broke out inside the command module while it sat atop the Saturn-1B rocket, killing Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. The mission was subsequently renamed Apollo 1 to honor the crew. In memory of the three astronauts, three hills on Mars were named Grissom Hill, White Hill, and Chaffee Hill. These hills are located in the Gusev crater, part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars, and were photographed from the Spirit rover's landing site after its landing on January 7, 2004. Grissom Hill lies 7.5 km southwest of the Columbia Memorial Station.
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