Final chilling words of astronaut revealed before spaceship exploded killing all on board
The ill-fated astronaut's final words deeply affected those watching and listening to the launch.
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Fifty years ago, a devastating fire engulfed a NASA spacecraft during a launch rehearsal test, tragically killing three astronauts trapped inside.
The chilling final words of one of the astronaut's set ablaze by the uncontrollable fire have been remembered, along with his doomed mission that paved the way for Neil Armstrong's historic moonwalk.
The Launch Complex 34, a delicate NASA spacecraft, was expected to never return to Earth. On Friday 27 January 1967, a deadly fire engulfed the three Americans before they could even leave the ground of Cape Kennedy, Florida.
The three victims, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, lost their lives inside the 'Block 1' spacecraft, designed only for Earth-orbital tests. Their last words deeply affected those watching and listening to the launch.
NASA had required the Apollo capsule to have a pure oxygen atmosphere, creating the perfect conditions for uncontrollable fires.
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When the inevitable fire erupted, Roger Chaffee cried out: "Fire! We've got a fire in the cockpit. Let's get out. We're burning up."
It was later found that the fire had started beneath their feet before a rush of oxygen filled their suits.
However, they were trapped due to a deadly inward-opening hatch that was bolted and required screws to be loosened for escape.
Before boarding the ship, fellow astronaut Wally Schirra gave Gus Grissom a crucial warning after realizing the ship was a death trap.
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Schirra told Grissom: "If you get the slightest glitch, get outta there. I don't like it."
Grissom's biographer, Ray Boomhower, wrote: "At such pressure, and bathed by pure oxygen, a cigarette could be reduced to ashes in seconds."
During practice runs, it took the astronauts over two minutes to open the hatch. In this situation, they didn't have that much time.
After a fire started due to exposed wires in the oxygen-rich environment, the astronauts' bio-medical readings skyrocketed, setting off alarm bells. Other sensors detected a brief power surge before Chaffee announced the fire.
Chaffee's teammate Propst only had time to loosen the first bolt. The rescue attempt was blocked by intense flames and heat, which their team leader, Don Babbitt, later described as "a heavy thick grey smoke, very billowing, but very thick".
The fire was fuelled by polyurethane panels, causing rescuers to struggle with smoke inhalation and later receive treatment for their injuries.
Despite the tragedy, it's believed that this event laid the groundwork for the successful Apollo missions that led to Armstrong's historic first steps on the moon.
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