The command module was mounted on a Saturn IB rocket, the smaller predecessor to the Saturn V that eventually made the missions to the moon ( 3). Mission planners decided to emphasize the “Apollo” part of the mission, hence the abbreviation changed from “SA” to “AS.” The launch vehicle/service and command module had been tested, without a crew, 12 times prior to this mission. Long after the fatal incident, it was renamed Apollo 1 there was never an Apollo 2 or an Apollo 3 mission. The original designation for this scheduled space flight was AS-204. Most forensic pathologists will never be involved in a death investigation of astronauts at the edge of outer space, on a mission, or during training, yet the findings are nevertheless of interest in the field of environmental death. While many have now been explained, the myriad of environmental insults to the crew continues to be a source of interest for those involved in space flight. Even with the improvements learned from the losses of Apollo 1 (1967), the Challenger (1986), and the Columbia (2003), space flight continues to be one of the most dangerous professions and environmental factors are significant contributors to this threat. The causes of these incidents are now identified and the environmental impacts on the astronauts were a major contributor to the tragedies. The previous two major space shuttle fatality incidents also presented unique and complex issues. When the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost in 2003, the investigation presented many unique challenges, including numerous findings that had never been observed by forensic pathologists.
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