Editing Apollo 1 (section)

{{Short description|Planned United States spaceflight destroyed by accidental fire (1967)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = Apollo 1
| names_list            = AS-204, Apollo 1
| image                 = Apollo1-Crew 01.jpg
| image_caption         = [[Gus Grissom]], [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]], and [[Roger B. Chaffee]]<br />in front of the launch pad containing<br />their AS-204 space vehicle
| image_alt             = Grissom, White, and Chaffee in front of the launch pad containing their AS-204 space vehicle
| image_size            = <!--include px/em; defaults to 180px-->
<!--mission insignia or patch-->
| insignia              = Apollo 1 patch.png
| insignia_caption      = <!--image caption-->
| insignia_alt          = Apollo 1 Patch
| insignia_size         = <!--include px/em; defaults to 180px-->
<!--Basic details-->
| mission_type          = Crewed spacecraft verification test
| operator              = [[NASA]]
| mission_duration      = Up to 14 days (planned)
<!--Spacecraft properties-->
| spacecraft            = CSM-012
| spacecraft_type       = [[Apollo command and service module]], Block I
| manufacturer          = [[North American Aviation]]
| dry_mass              = <!--spacecraft mass in orbit without fuel-->
| launch_mass           = {{convert|45000|lb|kg|order=flip|sp=us}}
| landing_mass          = <!--Mass after landing (recovered spacecraft only)-->
| dimensions            = <!--body dimensions and solar array span-->
<!--Launch details-->
| launch_date           = February 21, 1967 (planned)
| launch_rocket         = [[Saturn IB]] AS-204
| launch_site           = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Kennedy]] [[Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 34|LC-34]]
| launch_contractor     = <!--organisation(s) that conducted the launch (e.g. United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, etc)-->
<!--Crew details-->
| crew_size             = 3
| crew_members          = {{Unbulleted list|[[Gus Grissom]]
|[[Ed White (astronaut)|Edward H. White II]]
|[[Roger B. Chaffee]]}}
| crew_photo            = Apollo 1 Prime Crew - GPN-2000-001159.jpg
| crew_photo_alt        = Apollo 1 Prime Crew
| crew_photo_caption    = From left: White, Grissom, Chaffee
| crew_photo_size       = <!--defaults to 220px-->
<!--end of mission-->
| destroyed             = {{ubl|[[#Accident|January 27, 1967]]|23:31:19&nbsp;UTC}}
<!--orbit parameters-->
| orbit_reference       = [[Geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|120|nmi|km|order=flip|sp=us}} (planned)
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|160|nmi|km|order=flip|sp=us}} (planned)
| orbit_inclination     = 31&nbsp;degrees (planned)
| orbit_period          = 89.7&nbsp;minutes (planned)
| apsis                 = gee
<!--Only use where a spacecraft/mission is part of a clear programme of sequential missions-->
| previous_mission      = [[AS-202]]
| next_mission          = [[Apollo 4]]
| programme             = [[Apollo program]]
}}

'''Apollo 1''', initially designated '''AS-204''', was planned to be the first manned mission of the [[Apollo program]],<ref name="MarAprChron" /> the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first [[low Earth orbit]]al test of the [[Apollo command and service module]]. The mission never flew; a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34|Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34]] on January 27 killed all three crew members—Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]], and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]]—and destroyed the command module (CM). The name Apollo 1, chosen by the crew, was made official by [[NASA]] in their honor after the fire.

Immediately after the fire, NASA convened an Accident Review Board to determine the cause of the fire, and both chambers of the [[United States Congress]] conducted their own [[United States congressional hearing|committee inquiries]] to oversee NASA's investigation. The ignition source of the fire was determined to be electrical, and the fire spread rapidly due to combustible nylon material and the high-pressure pure oxygen cabin atmosphere. Rescue was prevented by the [[plug door]] hatch, which could not be opened against the internal pressure of the cabin. Because the rocket was unfueled, the test had not been considered hazardous, and emergency preparedness for it was poor.

During the Congressional investigation, Senator [[Walter Mondale]] publicly revealed a NASA internal document citing problems with prime Apollo contractor [[North American Aviation]], which became known as the [[Phillips Report]]. This disclosure embarrassed NASA Administrator [[James E. Webb]], who was unaware of the document's existence, and attracted controversy to the Apollo program. Despite congressional displeasure at NASA's lack of openness, both congressional committees ruled that the issues raised in the report had no bearing on the accident.

Crewed Apollo flights were suspended for twenty months while the command module's hazards were addressed. However, the development and uncrewed testing of the [[lunar module]] (LM) and [[Saturn V]] rocket continued. The [[Saturn IB]] launch vehicle for Apollo{{nbsp}}1, AS-204, was used for the first LM test flight, [[Apollo 5]]. The first successful crewed Apollo mission was flown by Apollo{{nbsp}}1's backup crew on [[Apollo 7]] in October 1968.