Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 1 Tragedy - Ed White, II
50 years ago today, Ed White II (a 1959 MSE graduate of the UofM Aerospace Dept), perished in the Apollo 1 tesing fire along with astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee. Ed White was also the first American to perform an EVA (spacewalk) while aboard Gemini 4.
In addition to also being a proud Michigan Aero alum, all of my children have attended the elementary school named after Ed down here in Houston. There is a memorial tree grove on site here at the Johnson Space Center where NASA plants a tree for every astronaut after they have passed away. I stopped by on my way into work this morning to pay respect to Ed and the rest of the Apollo 1 astronauts. I thought I would share a few pictures of his tree.. and yes, I made sure to play The Victors before I left.
January 27th, 2017 at 11:40 AM ^
Going to space is a ridiculous thing when you think about it. Especially back in those days. The fact we have achieved what we have is astounding. Those dudes had some huge brass balls.
Humblebrag: I'm developing some stuff with a client that is going to be used on the international space station. I can't go to space, but someting I developed and touched is.
January 27th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
I then remember later reading that the Atlas Rocket was considered reliable.
3 years after he launched.
January 27th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
"Shortly after being chosen for the program in the spring of 1959, the Mercury astronauts were taken to watch the second D-series Atlas test, which exploded a minute into launch. This was the fifth straight complete or partial Atlas failure and the booster was at this point nowhere near reliable enough to carry a nuclear warhead or an unmanned satellite, let alone a human passenger.
Plans to man-rate Atlas were effectively still on the drawing board and Convair estimated that 75% reliability would be achieved by early 1961 and 85% reliability by the end of the year."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_LV-3B
Brass balls indeed.
January 27th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
Do you know when it is supposed to be launched?
January 27th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
We are on the last few "feasibility assessments."
January 27th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
but that Gemini 4 flight had an all-Michigan crew, with White sharing that tiny Gemini capsule with Jim McDivitt, BSE '59. McDivitt graduated first in his class, FWIW.
January 27th, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
I used to live down the street from the McDivitts. I never met him, but I went to school with his kids. All were outstanding swimmers (though I'm not sure that any of them swam competitively at the collegiate level).
January 27th, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^
At least on of his daughters is a Michigan alum too. She was in the AXO house with my wife when she was there.
U of M has made profound contributions to the nation's space program, something we can all be proud of.
SGBlue B.S.AeroEng 1980
January 27th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
You know, I crossed McDivitt-White Plaza countless times when I was on campus, but probably didn't stop often enough to appreciate the dangerous situations early astronauts were frequently in just getting off the ground, let alone into space.
Very cool of you to stop and pay respects to the Apollo 1 crew.
January 27th, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^
I remember when it was the McDivitt-White Corner before East University was completely closed off north of South University. It was marked with a gradually rusting metal sign (at least as of the early 80s). I think the Plaza is a nicer memorial.
January 27th, 2017 at 9:17 PM ^
January 27th, 2017 at 11:57 AM ^
Harm Buning gave a talk to the AIAA chapter in '03 or '04 on his memories of the Apollo program. He was visibily emotional when he started talking about "his friend, Ed White." There's no question White had a tremendous impact on the world in his short time here.
January 27th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^
Fulham has fallen off a bit in the last 4 years. Sad to see them and Newcastle not in the Premiere league. Looks like Newcastle may be headed back up.
January 27th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
Yeah, it was a rough couple of years at the Cottage, but they've been markedly better this year. Amazing what having a consistent manager can do.
January 27th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^
Love that it's right on the Thames. Any closer it'd be floating.
January 27th, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
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January 27th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^
January 27th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
Memory of when this tradegy happened. Very sad.
January 27th, 2017 at 3:39 PM ^
Excellent stuff. They were pioneers in an astonishing mission. In contrast to the rapid speed (and expense) of the moon race, the "next generation" Orion capsule that is basically an enlarged version of Apollo with nicer computers is entering development under its third president, and is nowhere near flying.
Pioneers like the Apollo 1 crew accepted that there was risk and that lives could be lost, but it makes their loss no less saddening.
Contributing my own "U of M astronauts that I know" story, Jack Lousma is of course well known and his familiy attended church with my family, so I got to know his youngest son a bit. His wife, Gratia, made and delivered dinner to my family when my dad was being treated for cancer.
January 27th, 2017 at 4:11 PM ^
January 27th, 2017 at 7:26 PM ^
Shame on America for the condition of our space program. There should be a base on Mars named after these guys. They all suffered from balls of steel. Heroes gets thrown around alot but these guys fit the profile.
January 27th, 2017 at 7:57 PM ^
The nationalized space program is indeed a disappointment. They've already spent over $13 billion on the Space Launch System/Orion capsule and are years from a manned launch (the capsule appears to be the major issue FWIW). Private space companies like the well-publicized SpaceX and the less well-publicized Blue Origin, and old complex standbys like Boeing and the related United Launch Alliance, are doing the literal and figurative heavy lifting right now.
In my opinion the SLS basically exists as a money sink to keep old Space Shuttle factory lines open, doing more expensively what SpaceX and Blue Origin are doing in parallel. Not sure that's the best option, though the competition amongst rocket manufacturers will result in better rockets long-term. And the competition between capsule manufacturers (Boeing and SpaceX) is going to wind up giving the US viable access to space again with real innovation a distinct possibility.
Capsule development really does seem to be a hurdle for everybody. SpaceX, Boeing, and Lockheed are all hitting delays. It's tough work keeping people safe in space.
EDIT: NASA deserves real credit for contracting SpaceX as extensively as they do, giving Musk margin to keep experimenting and developing new stuff. No politics but I think contracting private companies for space station passenger service was a good move and will pay off eventually.
January 27th, 2017 at 7:52 PM ^
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January 27th, 2017 at 9:21 PM ^