Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

Exploring the Unknown 651
[Signed James E. Webb]
James E. Webb
Administrator
Enclosure:
Excerpt, 1967 House Authorization Hearings
Document II-48
Document Title: Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Deputy Administrator, “Memorandum
for the Apollo 204 Review Board,” 28 January 1967.
Source: Folder #18675, NASA Historical Reference Collection, History Division,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
Document II-49
Document Title: NASA, Office of the Administrator, “Statement by James E.
Webb,” 25 February 1967.
Source: Folder #18675, NASA Historical Reference Collection, History Division,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
Document II-50
Document Title: Apollo 204 Review Board, “Report of Apollo 204 Review
Board to the Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,”
5 April 1967.
Source: Folder #18675, NASA Historical Reference Collection, History Division,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
A 27 January 1967 fire during a launch pad spacecraft test resulted in the deaths of
astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. NASA Administrator
James Webb was able to convince President Lyndon B. Johnson that NASA could and should
conduct an objective review of what came to be known as the Apollo 204 accident. On 28
January, NASA constituted an internal Review Board for the accident investigation after
Administrator Webb convinced the White House that NASA could conduct its own review on
an impartial basis. The Review Board was chaired by the Director of the Langley Research
Center, Floyd Thompson, to investigate the accident and suggest remedial measures. During
the investigation, NASA hoped to damp down Congressional criticism by sharing with the