All the best,

- 'Sputnik I' becomes Earth's first artificial satellite. ‘Sputnik’ is the Russian word for ‘Traveler.’
- First intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7 Semyorka
- First animal to enter Earth orbit, the dog Laika on Sputnik 2

1958

- The United States launches its first satellite, Explorer I. The satellite was crammed with equipment and included a Geiger counter that detected the existence of the Van Allen radiation belts, the most important discovery of the Space Age. That same year, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed in the United States. NASA is the federal agency devoted to exploring space.

1959

1960

- First animals to safely return from Earth orbit on Sputnik 5.
- First probe launched to Mars, Marsnik 1

- April 12th, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space and to orbit the Earth. (see below)
- First probe launched to Venus, Venera 1
- First person to spend over a day in space Gherman Titov, Vostok 2

- Alan Shepard, Jr. becomes the first American astronaut in space aboard the Freedom 7 (and was later the commander on Apollo 14). When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder.'

- Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became to first woman in space aboard the Vostok 6. She orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space, which was more than the combined flight times of all American astronauts at the time.

- The launch of 3 men aboard the Voskhod I is the first space flight to carry more than one person into space. Also the first flight without space suits.

- First probe to make a soft landing on and transmit and take pictures from the moon's surface. (Luna 9)
- First probe in lunar orbit, Luna 10

- First unmanned rendezvous and docking, Cosmos 186/Cosmos 188. (Until 2006, this had remained the only major space achievement that the US had not duplicated.)

- The United States launches Apollo 8, the first manned space mission to orbit the moon.

- First crew to visit two separate space stations (Mir and Salyut 7)
- First permanently manned space station, Mir, which orbited the Earth from 1986 until 2001

It is difficult to give exact figures and dates for the Soviet Union's space disasters because during that time the Soviets were very secretive and kept many of these incidents away from the prying eyes of the Western World. Even today there are many contradictions regarding the circumstances in which these events took place.

Gagarin Was Not The First Man In Space

Yuri Gagarin was not the first man to travel into Space

Contrary to popular belief, Yuri Gagarin was not the first man to travel into space!

Alexis Ledovski accomplished that goal in 1957 when the Soviets launched a satellite carrying Ledovski from the Soviet missile centre 60 miles south-east of Stalingrad. However, all contact was lost with Ledovski when he was 200 miles up and it is thought that his space craft either disintegrated or carried on travelling into space. It was not until 4 years later, in 1961, that the Soviet Union declared Yuri Gagarin as the first man to travel into space. However, controversy still rages on today over whether this was a propaganda stunt as Gagarin's flight was not revealed until the Vostok I was actually in flight. The lift off wasn't filmed either and Gagarin arrived back on Earth by parachute.

During my research, one of the common questions that I am asked is 'how could NASA fool so many people if Soviet eyes and the rest of the World were watching the Apollo landings?' The same question could be asked of America's vigilance during and after Gagarin's flight. It was not even suspected that Gagarin was not the first man in space until Pravda, the Russian news agency, revealed the truth in 2001.

Why didn't NASA know of this until they were told? There is not one single picture of Gagarin in space and yet NASA believed the Soviets without question.

In fact, there are several clues that point towards Gagarin not even going into space. The pictures to the right show Gagarin's capsule as it landed back on Earth. However, if you look closely you will see that one picture shows the capsule lying in a grassy field, while the other rests on snow. Both pictures were allegedly taken at the time that the capsule landed.

There are glaring errors in the radio conversations that Gagarin allegedly made while he was aboard the Vostok I. It is thought that a tape recorder may have been placed in the craft. During the flight, Gagarin does not make any reference to the areas he is flying over whatsoever - other than claiming that he was over America, when in fact, he was over the Pacific near Chile at the time. Gagarin would just repeat that the flight was running as normal - no reference to which part of Earth was in light or dark, or of any landmarks.

Gagarin himself would unfortunately become a casualty of flight just a few years later.

He became deputy training director of the Star City cosmonaut training base. At the same time, he began to re-qualify as a fighter pilot. On 27th of March 1968, while on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, he and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin (Seregin) died in a MiG-15UTI crash near the town of Kirzhach. Gagarin and Seryogin were buried in the walls of the Kremlin on Red Square.

Other Soviet space disasters include Serenti Shiborin who was killed in 1958. A launch pad explosion killed cosmonaut Andrei Mitkov in 1959. Marshal Nedelin was killed in an explosion in September 1960, and it is believed that many of the top executives of the Russian program also died with him.

US intelligence is believed to have a list of 11 dead cosmonauts: 5 who failed in orbit, and 6 who died on the launch pad or during training. But with the Soviets revealing so little details of their space disasters at the time, perhaps until the Russians open their files, it will be many years before we know the full extent of their casualties during the 'space race'.

Of course, the US had its fair share of accidents too. Most notably, on January 27th, 1967, when a fire killed Apollo I crew members Lt. Col. Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, (the second American to fly into space) Lt. Col. Edward H. White II, (the first American to "walk" in space) and Lt. Cdr. Roger B. Chaffee, (a "rookie" on his first space mission). A sudden fire broke out in the command module during a launch pad test in which all three of the primary crew perished.

While strapped into their seats inside the Command Module atop the giant Saturn V Moon rocket, a faulty electrical switch created a spark somewhere beneath the seat of commander Gus Grissom. The wire, alive with electrical power, lay bare in a thick soup of 100 percent oxygen – one of the most dangerous and corrosive gases known. Exposed to an ignition source, it is extremely flammable.

The speed and intensity of the fire quickly exhausted the oxygen supply inside the crew cabin. Unable to deploy the hatch due to its cumbersome design and lack of breathable oxygen, the crew lost consciousness and perished.

An 18-month investigation showed NASA’s biggest mistake was locking the crew inside the spacecraft and pumping oxygen into it. NASA decided to then redesign the hatch, use a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen instead of pure oxygen, and use flame-retardant materials and a new emergency procedure at the pad. 

'Gus' Grissom was concerned about the capability of the Apollo I

'Gus' Grissom was already a space veteran by the time he had joined the Apollo I project and was no stranger to NASA mishaps. In 1961, Grissom made the second American sub orbital space flight aboard the Mercury-Redstone 4, which was popularly known as the Liberty Bell 7.

After splashdown, explosive bolts blew the hatch off unexpectedly and water flooded into the tiny capsule. Grissom exited through the open hatch and into the ocean but nearly drowned as water filled his flight suit while a helicopter tried to lift and recover the spacecraft. However, the capsule sank because it had filled up with water.

Grissom strongly denied rumors that he had blown the hatch and NASA officials eventually concluded that he was correct. Initiating the explosive egress system required hitting a metal trigger with the side of a closed fist. This would always leave a large, obvious bruise on the Astronaut's forearm, but Grissom was found to not have any of the tell-tale bruising associated with triggering the emergency hatch release. The capsule was recovered in 1999 but no evidence was found which could conclusively explain how the explosive hatch release fired on its own.

In early 1964, fellow NASA astronaut Alan Shepard was grounded after being diagnosed with Ménière's disease and Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight. This mission made Grissom the first astronaut to fly twice beyond the accepted boundary of space.

Grissom soon became very frustrated with the Apollo I project and openly criticized NASA's sloppiness on more than one occasion. Grissom's troubles were recorded in an interview in late 1966 when he spoke to Jay Barbree, a veteran space reporter. Barbree met Grissom at a club in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and was surprised by what Grissom had to say. It wasn't long before Grissom was telling Barbree “Apollo is a piece of crap - it may never fly. We have problems and they’re not getting solved. It’s nothing like Mercury and Gemini and working with the Mac folks in St. Louis.”

According to Grissom, it was pressure from the White House that pushed the project forward ahead of time. He believed that President Lyndon Johnson would like to see NASA land on the moon before the polls opened in 1968. It would also help take the publics mind off the Vietnam conflict. “Johnson gave Apollo to his buddies instead of the guys with the experience and now he’s damn well wanting miracles that ain’t there. They’re rushing production and we need time, Jay, we need time” exclaimed Grissom.

Grissom also told the press "We've had problems before, but these have been coming in bushelfuls. Frankly, I think this mission has a pretty damn slim chance of flying its full fourteen days." The simulator that was used by the Apollo I team was outdated because the Apollo capsule had received 150 to 200 modifications. This made the simulator a poor tool for training because it was not identical to the actual Apollo I. Before the Apollo I capsule was finally placed atop the Saturn rocket at Cape Kennedy in January 1967, no less than 623 changes had been made to the vehicle since it was delivered in the previous August.

On January 22nd, 1967, Grissom picked a lemon from a tree in his backyard and placed it inside the window of the Apollo I simulator. It was his way of saying that he was uncomfortable with the constant hiccups that were happening.

The Apollo I fire

On the morning of the tragedy, the three Apollo I astronauts made their final ascent to the doomed capsule. Once again there were additional holdups and delays, such as high oxygen flow levels, a sour smell coming from Grissom's oxygen supply and faulty communications between the astronauts and the control room. Grissom asked the control room, "How can we get a man to the moon when we can't even talk between two buildings? " He even encouraged Deke Slayton, the former Mercury 7 astronaut, to get into the capsule to see for himself how bad the problems were.

After a short break, the tests resumed at 6.31 pm. It wasn't long before one of the astronauts calmly announced, "Fire, I smell fire." Two seconds after that, Edward White urgently shouted "Fire in the cockpit!" Emergency procedures for escape from the capsule required at least 90 seconds, although the crew had never been able to perform them in the minimum amount of time during training. The last inaudible radio communication from the capsule came just 18 seconds later, and an explosion happened just 35 seconds after the first report of fire.

The heat was so intense that engineers could not open the hatch from the outside for 6 minutes.

Did NASA decide that Grissom was too outspoken? Was Grissom silenced because he was publicly speaking out against NASA? Grissom claimed that the mission was 10 years away from reaching the Moon, and not just 2 years as was expected. Why would NASA put astronauts into a capsule without fire extinguishers and with stripped electrical wiring? And why would NASA put their astronauts into a capsule that had dangerously high pressured pure oxygen levels (16 psi) when they already knew such levels were hazardous from previous oxygen fires?

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Just two months before the Apollo I tragedy, Thomas Ronald Baron, a quality control inspector at Kennedy Space Centre, made a report based on his observations, and the gossip and rumor that he had collected from his fellow employees. He noted difficulties with persons, parts, equipment and procedures. The following report, written by Baron, highlights the poor workmanship and many problems with cleanliness and safety rules.

It has often been said that "People must do what they think is right." In many cases this has been a costly quotation to follow, but it is probably one of the very few ways we have of advancing ourselves as a nation. There are too many opportunities for organizations to live off of the taxpayer. It always seems that the more tax moneys that can be had, the more this money is wasted. There is no question in my mind that there is gross mismanagement in relation to man-hours and proper control of materials, and to the treatment of people. In my opinion, North American Aviation has had the funds to correctly administer a Space Program without compromising the safety of its employees, the astronauts, or the objectives of the Project itself.

North American Aviation, has not, in many ways, met their contractual obligations to the United States Government or the taxpayer. I do not have all the information I need to prove all that is in this report. I just hope someone with the proper authority will use this information as a basis to conduct a proper investigation. Someone had to make known to the public and the government what infractions are taking place. I am attempting to do that, someone else will have to try to correct the infractions.

There are many reasons why this report is being written. I have been with NAA for the past sixteen months. During that time I took the time to make notes on daily happenings. There were difficulties with people, parts, equipment, and procedures, not to mention, poor safety practices and the accidents they caused. These notes, which were sometimes in the form of letters, were sent up to channels, starting with the leadman. In most cases, as far as I can remember, they were not acted upon or never got further than the leadman.

When I was hired by NAA, I was assigned to the Quality Control Department. I was told of the vast importance of my task, and of the great responsibility associated with it. I was told how the slightest infraction could be detrimental to the objectives of the program. I, along with others, was told how important our job was when it came to manned launches. We were told to report every infraction, no matter how minor we felt it was. Unfortunately, this is not practiced by the Company.

The Apollo program is only the beginning, but this is not to be used as an excuse for poor operations. I was just recently told by management that we were still in research and development even if we are going manned. I go along with this for the most part, but we should not compromise the safety of the astronauts just for the benefit of a schedule.

Trying to keep this Project on schedule has caused a great many problems in itself. It can also be said, that because of this objective in mind, it has actually cost us much time, thereby, putting us behind schedule.

Trying to keep this schedule has cost the taxpayer a great deal of money. Money wasted due to the tremendous waste of man-hours, materials, parts, and equipment. The proof of the waste is not too difficult to verify. It would take an investigation of procedures and interviewing several conscientious people. I am not talking about interviewing full supervisors or managers. I'm saying; interview the technicians, the mechanics, the QC man in the area of work. These are the people who know what is really going on as far as wasted man-hours and material, is concerned.

GENERAL NOTES
The incidents that are described in this report can be put into several categories. I have listed these categories for the benefit and clarification of the reader.
It must be noted that all of these problems were given to my supervisors at the time they took place or shortly thereafter. Many of the problems could and should have been eliminated or prevented if NAA took the proper steps to do so. Almost every case of trouble gave a clear warning as to what was going to happen. This is why I say, that if the leadman, or assistant supervisor took the proper action the problem for the most part, could have been avoided.

The following is a list of policies that NAA should follow to make themselves the "professional" people they should be in the first place. I am afraid the public had the wrong image in their minds when they think of project Apollo. They probably believe that everyone knows exactly what they are doing at all times. They probably also believe that the work out here at the launch complexes is done on a routine manner. They are wrong. I have been told by two managers that we are still in research and development stages even if we are going to send up a manned spacecraft. This, I firmly believe is the wrong approach to the project. Does NASA know or realize that every spec that we have is inadequate for the task being done? Do they really know that they are changed constantly to comply with the output of quality of the part or system being tested? Are they fully aware of the compromising position that NAA has put the program in? Do they know that of the great number of people we have working on the hardware are not satisfied with their own work and the work of others? NASA is not aware of the vast snags that go on in receiving inspection. Do they really know where all the parts and materials come from? I believe that all these questions can be answered with the word "No." 

Baron passed on these and other criticisms to his superiors and friends; then he deliberately let his findings leak out to newsmen. North American considered his actions irresponsible and discharged him on 5 January 1967. The company then analyzed and refuted each of Baron's charges and allegations. In the rebuttal, North American denied anything but partial validity to Baron's wide-ranging accusations, although some company officials later testified before Congress that about half of the charges were well-grounded. When the Apollo I tragedy occurred, Baron was apparently in the process of expanding his 55-page paper into a 500-page report.

When his indictments were finally aired before Teague's subcommittee, during a meeting at the Cape on 21st of April, 1967, Baron's credibility was impaired by one of his alleged informants, a fellow North American employee named Mervin Holmburg. Holmburg denied knowing anything about the cause of the accident, although Baron had told the committee that Holmburg "knew exactly what caused the fire." Holmburg testified that Baron "gets all his information from anonymous phone calls, people calling him and people dropping him a word here and there. That is what he tells me."

Ironically, Baron and all his family died in a car-train crash only a week after this exposure to congressional questioning!

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An Interesting Speech At The 40th Anniversary Lectures

During the John Glenn Lecture at the recent 40th Anniversary of Apollo Celebrations, Chris Kraft, the former Johnson Space Center Director, said: ‘This was a whole new concept to these people. Many of these people had no experience in space flight. They came from all other kinds of engineering walks of life. But they had been given the task to very quickly come up to speed and start building a space craft. And quite frankly, they built a damned lousy space craft! They were running like the Devil, trying to get it done. They didn’t have time to listen to lessons learned, and it was quite a turmoil in 1967 when we sent 3 men to their death on a pad at Cape Canaveral. It was a terrible day, a very terrible day to watch that happen.’

‘And we had a NASA Committee that looked at what was wrong, and everything was wrong. There was poor workmanship, poor wiring, poor redundancy concepts, etc. And so we had a regrouping of NASA following Mr. Thompson’s review of that program, and one of the first meetings we had with George Lowe as the new program manager was a meeting to decide what we needed to do. And we listed 125 things that had to be done to make that space craft viable.’ ‘We had to rebuild the industry, had to rebuild ourselves, and we had to rebuild the space craft. In the summer of 1968, after recognizing that we were ready to fly the space craft, we flew Apollo 7 and Apollo 8. And also, I want to say that although the death of those three men is a terrible thing in our memory – without the fire, I guarantee you that we would still be trying to get to the Moon, because that was not going to happen with the hardware we had.’