Apollo I effort news

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:46 am

As many of you know through our efforts at the grissom Air Museum we have started our own non profit "Warbird Rescue". Our goal is to connect folks that would like to volunteer at museums or on projects with an aircraft in their area. We are in the eearly phases of it, but it is a start. One of the things that we are working on right now is the Apollo I Command module. It is in storage and we have been talking with NASA abot moving it to display. We now have another party interested and they have a very fitting display area. Purdue University has now shown wishes to display the Apollo I CM. They have a new facility that is climate controlled and would be open to the public during normal business hours. NASA has been very nice to deal with. It will be a very bold move for NASA to allow it, so we continue to try. It is better than the alternative. Many people have no idea what Apollo I is or who Grissom, Chaffee, and White are.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:07 am

Awesome news Chris! Thats taking the bull by the horns!

Fleet16b · **Posted:** Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:13 am

Excellent news.
The Apollo 1 program is an important piece of American as well as World history.
Their story should be told
Thanks for starting this project.

APG85 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:13 pm

I believe Neil Armstrong got his BS degree at Purdue, taught there and there is a Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering at the school...

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:50 pm

Grissom and Chaffee both went there as well

gtokid · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:40 pm

So did I....but I'm nobody :wink:

I believe WIXer Vlado is also a Purdue grad.

Pogo · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:32 pm

mustangdriver wrote:

Many people have no idea what Apollo I is or who Grissom, Chaffee, and White are.

And you may have little idea just how true what you say actually is. I visited the Johnson Space Center in the capacity of a local cabinetmaker, there to estimate a small job. Unlike pre-9-11 days when we could simply drive on and offsite as we wished, now we are obliged to park offsite, go through a security check, and then be picked up and delivered by NASA personnel in a NASA van to where we need to go. The professional NASA driver and his copilot thought they'd enlighten us heathens a little as we passed Rocket Park by explaining how Apollo 1 was the first landing on the moon.

Yes, I set them straight, very clearly, and in no uncertain terms. I still get angry and disgusted to think of people working there who don't know any better than that, and mouth off BS to visitors.

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:49 pm

We know it is a long shot going in, but as you just stated, they are names that shold not be forgotten.

Pogo · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:54 pm

It would be best if what's left of the capsule could be stuffed in a silo somewhere with complete confidence that the event would live forever in the memory of everyone regardless of what was done with it. But I think we all know better than that. Therefore, I am all for making it as public as possible, and the more attention it generates the better.

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:31 pm

I agree. I also think that it HAS to be a tasteful display. Which we would obviously make it.

Hemiman · **Posted:** Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:13 am

Chris..

That crew should never be forgotten, however, what if one of the family members requested that the capsule not be displayed??

Bill

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:38 am

I think that only after family contact has been made can you go forward with something like this. Contacting the Grissoms was one of the first things we did. You are not going to please everyone all of the time, but we wanted to see if the family was OK with an Apollo I display. Betty Grissom has always been in favor of not covering up or forgetting the crew of Apollo I. Even when NASA didn't want to call it Apollo I but it's internal designation, 204. We tried to contact other families, but could not find them. We also contacted employees of NASA including other astronauts that were there during that time period or that worked on the project, and they too were also in favor of it.
I am not a political man, I don't like politics at all, and politicians even less. I am not associated with any party. So this is NOT a politically charged statement, but one that I feel very deeply about. I think that ending the space program is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, and that we are going to pay for it. I would love for President Obama to learn about the sacrifices the crew of Apollo I made for this country's space program. I feel that it is ignorance that is leading to the stopping of the program from those guys on that NASA escort straight to the White House. These men felt that in Gus's own words, "The exploration of space is worth the risk of life". And now our leaders are saying, "Not if it means cutting that program that I like". These men climbed on top of a rocket at a time when we didn't always have a ton of luck with our rockets. And they did so for our country. Forgetting them is perhaps worse than offending someone with a display.

Owen Miller · **Joined:** Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:28 pm **Posts:** 614

WELL said sir!!!!!!!

Pogo · **Posted:** Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:37 am

No matter what your politics are, the fact remains that our government people are subject to a voting constituency ........ and the I fear most of the voters would rather watch Star Trek than live manned spaceflight mission coverage.

gtokid · **Posted:** Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:16 am

Hey Chris, you mentioned Purdue already had a location for the display. Would it be located in the Armstrong building, and replace the replica module that's already hanging there?

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