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Perhaps the most significant point about the lunar-orbit flight proposed for Apollo 8 was that the command and service modules would fly the same route to the moon as would be used for the actual lunar landing.
General Samuel C. Phillips. Director of Apollo Manned Lunar Landing program
Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Rocket Man.
George Mueller Assoc. Admin. for NASA Office of Manned Space Flight
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An ‘A’ type mission would be flown with a Saturn V and be used to test the Launch vehicle, spacecraft, and a high velocity lunar return. Nasa cover the ‘A’ mission with Apollo 4 & 6.
A ‘B’ type mission would be flow with a Saturn IB and test the lunar module development, and propulsion, and launch vehicle staging. This was accomplished with Apollo 5.
A ‘C’ type mission would be flown with a Saturn IB and test the command and service module and evaluate the crew performance in low earth orbit. This was accomplished with Apollo 7…
Owen Maynard’s Seven Step Plan to land on the Moon
Owen Maynard, Chief of LEM engineering office
George Low, Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office
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When Deke Slayton and Stu Roosa arrived at pad 34 they saw ambulances waiting in vain at the base of the launch tower. They boarded the small elevator and rode to level A-8, 218 feet up, and headed across the swing arm to the clean room…
Exterior of the Command Module was blackened from eruption of the fire after the cabin wall failed
Interior of Apollo 1 Command Module after the fire
Apollo 1 Environmental Control System, located in the forward section near the floor. The fire may have started in this area.
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The “Plugs Out” test scheduled for Jan 27, 1967 was not the first time that spacecraft 12 had been put through a simulated run with people on board…
Block I hatch consisted of two pieces and required pressure inside the cabin be no greater than atmospheric to open
The Apollo 1 crew enter their spacecraft in the altitude chamber at Kennedy Space Center, October 18, 1966
Prime & backup crews 4/1/66. Backup crew Scott, McDivitt & Schweickart were replaced by Schirra, Eisele & Cunningham
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“On my honor I will do my best, To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The Boy Scout Oath.
Chaffee in Mission Control for Gemini 3
Chaffee with Apollo 1 Model
Apollo 1 Mission Patch
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“So the reason I took those symbols was that I think this was the most important thing I had going for me, and I felt that while I couldn’t take one for every religion in the country, I could take the three I was most familiar with.” Ed. White
Apollo 1 Crew Sketch
Apollo 1 Crew
Chaffee, White, and Grissom
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While flight-preparation crews were having problems, Grissom, White, and Chaffee were finding bottlenecks in training activities. The chief problem was keeping the Apollo mission simulator current with changes being made in spacecraft 012.
Command and Service Modules 012 at North American
Apollo 1 Arrives at the Cape
Grissom, Chaffee, & White check the communications headgear
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Max Faget’s position was that considering the difficulty of the job, if each mission was successful half the time, it would be well worth the effort. But Gilruth thought that was too low. He want a 90% mission success ratio and a 99% ratio for Astronaut safety. Walt Williams who was currently running the Mercury program believed that astronaut safety needed to be limited to only 1 failure in a million which was 99.9999%.
Launch Escape Vehicle Configuration
Jettison of the Launch Escape System after a Successful Launch
Full-Scale Mockup of the Service Module with Panels Off
The CM Probe Slips into the LM’s Dish-shaped Drogue, and 12 latches on the Docking Ring Engage
The Cabin Section of the Command Module being Assembled at North American Aviation
Command Module Elbow & Shoulder Clearance Problem