20/20 Wednesday

Race to the Moon: The Tragedy of Apollo One

TV Episode | 48 min | Documentary, News

A look back at the tragedy of the Apollo 1 pad fire, which killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, and almost derailed the entire U.S. manned space program.

Producer

Pete Simmons

Editor

Sharon Kaufman

See all filmmakers & crew (10)

Edit Released

Updated Nov 21, 1996

Release date

Nov 21, 1996 (United States)

Awards

Series awards

7 wins & 9 nominations

Contacts

+ Add

Become a member to see contact information for Race to the Moon: The Tragedy of Apollo One.

Cast	+ Add Cast
15 cast members

Name	Known for
Peter Jennings Self - Host Self - Host See fewer	ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (1953)
Frank Borman Self Self See fewer	First to the Moon (2018)
Eugene Cernan Self (as Gene Cernan) Self (as Gene Cernan) See fewer	The Last Man on the Moon (2014)
Martha Chaffee Self - Roger Chaffee's Widow Self - Roger Chaffee's Widow See fewer	The Last Man on the Moon (2014)
Roger B. Chaffee Self (archive footage) (as Roger Chaffee) Self (archive footage) (as Roger Chaffee) See fewer
Sheryl Chaffee Self (as Sheryl Chaffee Marshall) Self (as Sheryl Chaffee Marshall) See fewer	20/20 Wednesday (1993)
Gus Grissom Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Project Gemini: Bridge to the Moon (2008)
Jesse Owens Self - Apollo Systems Engineer Self - Apollo Systems Engineer See fewer	From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Rocco Petrone Self - Apollo Launch Director Self - Apollo Launch Director See fewer	Project Apollo (1979)
Wally Schirra Self Self See fewer	Outdoor Rambling (1972)
Robert Seamans Self Self See fewer	Moon Machines (2008)
Alan Shepard Self Self See fewer	The Magical World of Disney (1954)
John Tribe Self -Apollo Systems Engineer Self -Apollo Systems Engineer See fewer	When We Were Apollo (2019)
Guenter Wendt Self - Apollo Pad Leader Self - Apollo Pad Leader See fewer	From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Edward H. White II Self (archive footage) (as Ed White) Self (archive footage) (as Ed White) See fewer	The Four Days of Gemini 4 (1965)