Five Minutes in Space: One Year Online

The Apollo 1 crew (l to r): Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee

photo courtesy of NASA • www.nasaimages.org

The new episode of my video series "Five Minutes in Space," which I've just posted today, marks the start of the series' second year.

This installment, "Apollo 1: The First Team," recalls the tragic loss of the first Apollo crew, who perished when a fire broke out in their spacecraft during a test on January 27, 1967. Rather than dwell on the grim details of the accident, I've focused on the lives and legacy of crew members Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, and their dedication to the ideals of service to others and exploration of the unknown.


This episode also features snippets of two of my musical compositions: the FMS theme, "Stomp It," which appears at the start and end of every episode; and for the first time, a few brief clips from "Landing at Noctis Labyrinthus," which I've only previously used once, in an ad for my book Spaceflight: A Historical Encyclopedia.

Five Minutes in Space #13 - Apollo 1: The First Team

is available now at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXFEX6QztGU

Remembering Gus Grissom and the flight of Liberty Bell 7

In July, 1961, pioneering astronaut Gus Grissom became the third person to fly in space. He completed his mission flawlessly from launch to splashdown, and then, while awaiting recovery in his tiny Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule, he was suddenly confronted with a life and death struggle to remain afloat in the choppy waves of the Atlantic Ocean...

See the whole story in this month's episode of my video series "Five Minutes in Space," at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWyVCjQoK4g

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