Page 7 - The Appollo Story

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Apollo 1 (AS-204) - Apollo's Darkest Hour
Apollo 1 was to be a shakedown mission to thoroughly test all aspects of the prototype command and ser-
vice modules in Earth's orbit. NASA's approach to the Moon landings was to make a series of incremental
steps, carefully evaluating equipment and procedures until everything was ready for the real thing. This
was the theory, at least, but keeping to Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline was putting on the pressure.
Added to this the question of whether the Soviets were ahead of them. It seemed that every time the Ameri-
cans took one step forward, the Soviets took two. If the USA proposed sending two men into orbit with
Gemini, the Soviets sent three in Voskhod 1. If they planned a rendezvous or a space walk, the Soviets did
it first. In fact, the Soviets were playing a clever game, responding to NASA's openness in announcing its
intentions and then stealing their thunder. The Voskhod capsule, for example, was intended for a two-man
crew, but they squeezed a third man in by getting rid of the bulky spacesuits. In truth both sides were in
danger of pushing too fast, with safety being compromised in the name of political expedient.

Grissom's crew received approval in June 1966 to design a mission
patch with the name Apollo 1. The design's center depicts a Com-
mand/Service Module flying over the southeastern United States with
Florida (the launch point) prominent. The Moon is seen in the dis-
tance, symbolic of the eventual program goal. A yellow border can-ies
the mission and astronaut names with another border set with stars
and stripes, trimmed in gold. The insignia was designed by the crew,
with the ai1work done by NASA employee Allen Stevens.

Left - Command Module 012, labelled Apollo One, arrives at Ken-
nedy Space Center, 26 August 1966