# 44 Years Ago - They Were The Pioneers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210 "2011-01-27T17:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/1 "2011-01-27T17:55:38Z")
Everyone remembers the Challenger (01/28/86) and Columbia (02/01/2003), but they tend to forget the crew of the [Apollo 1 who died on the launchpad during a test on January 27, 1967.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1) The space shuttle accidents were unexpected, they thought they had worked out all the potential problems and those incidents were tragic but in 1967 this was all new, they didn’t know if it was safe but they did it anyway. They were pioneers and explorers. So here’s to Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee), thank you for your contributions to the space program. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/2 "2011-01-27T18:05:03Z")
When I was growing up and all of the other guys had baseball cards, I had astronaut cards. They were my heroes and when I grew up I was going to be an astronaut! When I discovered that you had to have perfect vision, I was really crushed. Here’s to you, Grissom, White and Chaffee! May your heroism never be forgotten! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/3 "2011-01-27T18:09:42Z")
I don’t forget. I went to Ed White Elementary School, Clear Creek, TX. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/4 "2011-01-27T18:30:33Z")
In ‘67 I was a crew cut-wearin’ Florida kid completely enamoured with all the astronauts. I’ll never forget the shock of that day. Though older, the next two sure weren’t any easier. ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/5 "2011-01-27T22:13:54Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > In ‘67 I was a crew cut-wearin’ Florida kid completely enamoured with all the astronauts. I’ll never forget the shock of that day. Though older, the next two sure weren’t any easier. Change Florida to North Dakota, and you have me exactly. I’d forgotten the anniversary and thank the OP for remembering it. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/6 "2011-01-27T23:42:30Z")
Our nation was lucky to have such heroes. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/7 "2011-01-28T06:08:52Z")
For a long time I kept an editorial cartoon published shortly after the Apollo 11 landing. It showed a tableau rather like the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima: two spacesuited figures labeled Armstrong and Collins planting the flag, assisted by three somewhat transparent figures labeled Grissom, White and Chaffee. I wonder every now and then whether it would be possible to track that puppy down. I still kinda choke up just thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/8 "2011-01-28T08:11:32Z")
Yeah, most people have forgotten these guys…what a horrible accident. Which leads to my question: how did NASA decide to use a 100% oxygen atmosphere for Apollo? Knowing the dangers, everything in that capsule should have been non-flammable. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/9 "2011-01-28T15:49:00Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Yeah, most people have forgotten these guys..what a horrible accident. > Which leads to my question: how did NASA decide to use a 100% oxygen atmosphere for Apollo? Knowing the dangers, everything in that capsule should have been non-flammable. I’m not quite old enough to remember them, or rather their deaths, personally, but I certainly know the tale. IIRC, Michener’s “Space” looked into that decision. In retrospect, it was clearly a bad decision, but it was not so clear before hand. (Who knew that even asbestos would burn in a pure O2 atmosphere.) I believe they were attempting to avoid nitrogen narcosis. Remember, technology such as scuba was new back then. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/44-years-ago-they-were-the-pioneers/569210/10 "2011-01-28T16:16:33Z")
> [@SlowMindThinking](#): > > I believe they were attempting to avoid nitrogen narcosis. Remember, technology such as scuba was new back then. They wanted to have [low cabin pressure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1#Command_Module_design_worries), which required oxygen. > [@](#): > > North American Aviation had suggested the cabin atmosphere be an oxygen/nitrogen mixture as on the Earth’s surface. NASA objected, citing heightened risks such as catastrophic decompression sickness and mismanagement of nitrogen levels, which could cause the astronauts to pass out and die. NASA officials asserted a pure oxygen atmosphere had been used without incident in the Mercury and Gemini programs (which was incorrect: fire and inability to open a door during the fire had been a problem[7]), demonstrating that pure oxygen could be safely employed on Apollo. Also, a pure oxygen design saved weight.