Jan 27 2009
On This Day in American Space Flight History
Two events occurred on this day in the history of America’s Space Flight Program. On January 27, 1959, the candidates for the first space flight are selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Among the 110 candidates chosen is John Glenn, who became the first American to orbit the Earth. John Glenn was a pilot in the Project Mercury program and flew aboard Friendship 7 as the first astronaut to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. On this day in 1967, NASA suffered a setback in the Apollo program when a launch pad fire took the lives of astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chafee. During a test of Apollo 1, an apparent short in electrical wiring caused a small fire, which spread very quickly as the result of the oxygen environment in the spacecraft, flammable components used in the spacecraft interior, and a burst plumbing line carrying a flammable coolant.
This is, in fact, a tough week for Space history. But there were some mighty incredible things done, too.