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Astounding official color glossy 10.75 x 13.5 NASA photo of the Apollo 1 crew in their white space suits, shown standing in front of a mock capsule on a raised platform, with several NASA employees pictured watching from different levels of the Kennedy Space Center, signed in black felt tip, "Gus Grissom," "Roger B. Chaffee," and "Ed White." Double-matted and framed with a small plate to an overall size of 17 x 19.5. The consignor notes that the photograph originated from the estate of Lee Gibbons, an employee of North American Aviation. In fine condition.
AS-204, manned by Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee, was intended 'to verify spacecraft crew operations and CSM subsystems performance for an earth-orbit mission of up to 14 days' duration and to verify the launch vehicle subsystems performance in preparation for subsequent operational Saturn IB missions.' After several delays throughout 1966, the launch was finally scheduled to take place on February 21, 1967. A fire broke out in the Apollo 1 capsule during a launch rehearsal on January 27, 1967, claiming the lives of all three crewmen. The tragedy led to a reevaluation of the Apollo spacecraft and the development of the Block II Command and Service Module.
Fully signed portraits of the tragic Apollo 1 crew remain highly elusive and are among the most sought-after prizes in the space-collecting field, with this particular example all the more desirable given its uncommonly large size.
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