Keith’s note: From NASA: “From left to right, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of Israel Eliav Benjamin, place wreaths at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial during a ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.” Larger image

“The agency will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, leading up to, and during, the agency’s annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Jan. 26. This year’s NASA Day of Remembrance precedes the 20th anniversary of the Columbia accident on Wednesday, Feb. 1.” More

Apollo 1 “Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). The mission was to be the first crewed flight of Apollo, and was scheduled to launch Feb. 21, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the command module, or CM.”

Keith’s note: Last week President Trump signed the H.R.2810 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 into law. Included in this legislation is a provision that calls for a memorial to the crew of Apollo 1 at Arlington National Cemetery: “SEC. 1087. CONSTRUCTION OF MEMORIAL TO THE CREW OF THE APOLLO I LAUNCH TEST ACCIDENT AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. Subject to applicable requirements of section 2409(b)(2)(E) of title […]

Keith’s note: Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 that sets aside $50,000 stating “The Secretary of the Army shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, construct at an appropriate place in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, a memorial marker honoring the three members of the crew of the Apollo I crew who died […]

NASA Unveils Tribute to Crew of Apollo 1 “A new tribute opened Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, dedicated to the lives, accomplishments and memories of the three astronauts who perished 50 years ago in a launch pad fire while training for the flight of Apollo 1. The tribute exhibit stands only a few miles from the long-abandoned Launch Complex […]

Dear Colleague Letter: Cosponsor the Bipartisan Apollo 1 Memorial Act “Although all three astronauts were posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, it is surprising that we do not have a memorial at Arlington Cemetery to honor the lives of the crew of Apollo 1 as was done for the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews. H.R. 6147 , The Apollo I Memorial Act, would redress that unfortunate omission. […]

NASA Has To Fight The Forgetting, NBC “[Space workers] need the consequent inescapable ache of fear and the gnawing of doubt that keeps asking, over and over, if they’ve covered all angles and done all they can. And if their stomachs do not knot up, and mouths go dry, as they confront such decisions perhaps they need new jobs. They do not need comforting myths about “valuable sacrifices” and “space-is-very-very-hard” […]

NASA Administrator Message: Day of Remembrance – Jan. 28, 2015 “Today we remember and give thanks for the lives and contributions of those who gave all trying to push the boundaries of human achievement. On this solemn occasion, we pause in our normal routines and remember the STS-107 Columbia crew; the STS-51L Challenger crew; the Apollo 1 crew; Mike Adams, the first in-flight fatality of the space program as he […]

Columbia: Thinking Back – Looking Ahead, Excerpt from “New Moon Rising”, by Frank Sietzen, Jr. and Keith Cowing “At the end of the event, Rona Ramon, Ilan’s widow, spoke last. Steeling her emotions with grace and clarity, she spoke elegantly and briefly. She thanked all for coming. And then she talked of her husband, and the flight of the lost shuttle. “Our mission in space is not over” she told […]