America's first space tragedy took place right here on Earth. On January 27, 1967, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were sealed inside their Apollo 1 command module atop a Saturn 1B on Launch Complex 34. They were conducting a countdown demonstration test. The spacecraft was pressurized at 15 p.s.i. with pure oxygen. Though never conclusively proved, it is strongly believed that a spark was generated from a wiring bundle beneath the center couch of the spacecraft. In the pure oxygen environment, a fire quickly enveloped the interior of the spacecraft. The hatch, redesigned following the fire, could not be quickly removed. All three astronauts died. (photo courtesy of NASA.)