Apollo 1 Memorial Site

My birthday, July 30th, was an extremely special day for me.  Melody and Faith took me to Kennedy Space Center where we picked up our tickets to go on the "Then and Now" behind the scenes tour of Cape Canaveral, the military installation where missiles and rockets are tested and launched.


During the tour, I was able to explore Launch Complex 34.  This is the launch pad where on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the Apollo space program.  Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee died when a flash fire occurred in command module during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle. 

This was quite an emotional experience for me, as I've been very attached to the space program since I was a child.  To stand in this very spot, and think back about all the video clips like the one in the movie Apollo 13, and images of the burned capsule and the remains of the space suits, were enough to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.  The most moving image for me (below) is the shot I took from directly below the opening for the rocket.  Knowing that these men perished just a few hundred feet directly above me, and right now I'm looking directly through that area into the heavens where they are now, still sends chills up my spine.  

All in all, the experience is one that will be etched into my memory forever.  Here are some more images from Launch Complex 34.  I'll be posting more on the "Then and now" tour shortly, including other images from an amazing day at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.

The blast shields from Launch Complex 34 were used to deflect the blast from the rocket engines into the air to protect from a ground fire.

The high temperature bricks that were used on the pad are still charred after 45 years!!

The remains of the block house where launch operations were conducted.  

A heavy I-beam used in the construction of the block house has been cut off with a torch during the dismantling of the pad.

Notice the escape doors for the technicians that were in the block house during launch procedures.

Here is the escape tunnel hatch where the astronauts went incase of an abort due to a major malfunction during the final moments before launch.

I've also been fortunate enough to custom paint a tribute bike on television to salute the Apollo program and honor these three men who gave their lives in the name of space exploration.  See the video on youtube here --->  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuQM10bwZ1g&feature=relmfu You'll see Jeffrey Phipps and I at 2:39).