During a launch simulation test, a spark from faulty wiring ignited the capsule, which was filled with pure oxygen. The accident killed the three astronauts - Gus Grisson, Ed White, Roger Chaffee - and almost derailed the entire Moon landing program.
The fixes made following the disaster did put the program back on track though. And the changes made to insulate all the wiring probably saved the crew of Apollo 13 from shorting something out when they powered their command module back up (it had accumulated a lot of condensation from 4 days sat at very cold temperatures).
A shame that those three astronauts had to pay the ultimate price. But as Grissom himself said: "The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."
The fixes made following the disaster did put the program back on track though. And the changes made to insulate all the wiring probably saved the crew of Apollo 13 from shorting something out when they powered their command module back up (it had accumulated a lot of condensation from 4 days sat at very cold temperatures).
A shame that those three astronauts had to pay the ultimate price. But as Grissom himself said: "The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."
