45 years ago this week one of the worst tragedies in America’s space program happened. Apollo I had a terrible fire, killing the 3 astronauts, Edward White, Virgil (Gus) Grissom, and Roger Chaffee inside. Of all the space tragedies this one speaks to me the most. Grissom, unlike many of his peers had such a difficult career. In the end he was just unlucky I guess.
I found some new, strong, and eerie images while researching this, but I placed them after the jump out of respect.
Apollo I crew. Image www.universetoday.com
Apollo I astronauts Edward White, Virgil (Gus) Grissom, and Roger Chaffee horsing around during a photo shoot. Image www.de-la-terre-a-la-lune.com
Interior view of the Apollo 204 spacecraft after the fire, which killed astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee during a plugs-out test at the Kennedy Space Center on January 27, 1967. Image Ed Hengeveld, www.apolloarchive.com.
"NASA combustion experts examine spacecraft outside late 3rd Feb 1967. Image posted by robsouth to www.collectspace.com
Photo showing internal fire damage. Image posted by robsouth to www.collectspace.com
On January 27, 1967, on launch pad 34, Edward White, Virgil (Gus) Grissom, and Roger Chaffee (shown on the left) died in a fire, during a preflight test. Their mission had been designated Apollo 204. After the accident, it was renamed Apollo 1. There were no Apollo 2 and 3 missions. The next manned mission was Apollo 7. Numerous problems developed with oxygen and communications, and the test dragged on and on. Various communications methods went awry. Then five and a half hours after they had entered the command module, Chaffee said, “Fire, I smell fire.” Two seconds later, White shouted, “Fire in the cockpit.” A few seconds later, they were dead from smoke inhalation.
Numerous things contributed to the disaster.
The test was performed in a pure oxygen atmosphere at nearly full atmospheric pressure. While this is considered hazardous, it had been done on all flights since the beginning of the Mercury program, as far as I can tell. After the accident, air was used while on the ground, and pure oxygen at reduced pressure was used once the spacecraft gained high altitude.
Whether you love or hate politics, you have to respect any man who dies at work, like N.J. Assemblyman Alex DeCroce recently did. Many pieces of legislation have died in the New Jersey statehouse, but Mr DeCroce may have been the first person to have done so. Condolences to his family.
Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) gestures as he speaks with Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) (back to camera) as the Assembly session begins at the Statehouse in this 2009 file photo. DeCroce died Monday night at 75. Image TONY KURDZUK/THE STAR-LEDGER
Morris County mourns the loss of Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce
By Star-Ledger Staff | By Star-Ledger Staff January 10, 2012 | http://www.nj.com
MORRISTOWN — This morning colleagues and constituents across the state mourned the passing of Assemblyman Alex DeCroce who collapsed and died inside the Statehouse late Monday night.
DeCroce, 75, was the longest serving current assemblyman in the state and the leading Republican of the state’s lower house. He represented Morris County for 23 years and died just moments after the 214th Legislature held its final voting session.
In a statement released early this morning, Gov. Chris Christie remembered DeCroce as “one of the most kind, considerate and trustworthy people I have ever had the pleasure to know,” Christie said. “He was an enormously accomplished legislator and a tremendous servant to the people of New Jersey.”
Politicians reacted to the news on twitter sending their condolences to the late-Assemblyman’s wife and three children. Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) said in a statement posted on the website, “Alex was a true leader for the Republican caucus in the Assembly, and was loved and respected by legislators of both chambers, on both sides of the aisle….It is hard to believe we will start a new legislative session without his wit, charm, and energy.”
There is nothing I can say about the late writer Christopher Hitchens that he can’t say a thousand times better and funnier than I can. The world is less interesting for his passing.
You’re expelled from your mother’s uterus as if shot from a cannon towards a barn door studded with old nail files and rusty hooks. Its a matter of how you use the intervening time in an interesting and ironic way, and try to not do anything nasty to your fellow creatures.
-hitchens
Advertising executive sends Christmas greetings from the grave
By Tom Fontaine | PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW | December 9, 2011
Known for sending humorous Christmas cards each year to hundreds of friends, Bob McCully outdid himself this year — posthumously.
Last week, about 400 people received unexpected holiday greetings from McCully, a former advertising executive and satirical writer from Point Breeze who died in August at 88.
“Hello, please don’t call. I recently moved to a quiet neighborhood and …,” the front of the card read, the words appearing under a photo of McCully in an office talking on the phone.
This story gets me “right here.” Imagine every person you see has a list of dreams in their pocket. What would your list have on it? Condolences to Ms Fountain’s friends and family.
Todd Maisel/New York Daily News Donna Fountain, 38, a home health attendant and single mom, was killed by a hit and run driver on Eastern Parkway and Troy Avenue Christmas morning, leaving behind her only son, Eliajah, 8. This is her photo from her ID.
Donna Fountain, 38, a home health attendant and single mom, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Eastern Parkway and Troy Ave. on Christmas morning. A note she left behind lists her dreams.
Brooklyn woman killed in Christmas hit and run died with pocketful of dreams Donna Fountain leaves behind 8-year-old son
BY Helen Kennedy & Kevin Deutsch | NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | December 27 2011, 6:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, December 27 2011, 6:00 AM
Donna Fountain carried her list with her everywhere, five items written out in pencil headed simply “My Dreams.”
Her goals: find a great job, buy a house by age 45, start a sanctuary for gay and lesbian teens, marry the woman of her dreams and watch her son, Elijah, graduate from college.
Donna Fountain will never see any of her dreams come true.
At just 38, she was cut down on Christmas morning by a hit-and-run driver in Crown Heights as she headed out to work as a home health care aide.
Little did the Van Doren’s realize what enduring arbiters of style they became when they created a shoe with their waffle iron.
The late James Van Doren.
Vintage Vans ad. Image thestyleraconteur.com
Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemnont High, shown with the Vans his character wore.
A 1984 file photo of Vans tennis shoes displayed in the Van Doren Rubber Company plant in Orange, California. James Van Doren, who ran the innovative shoe company from 1976 to 1984, died October 12, 2011. (Los Angeles Times/MCT)
James Van Doren dies at 72; co-founder of Vans shoes
November 03, 2011 | By Valerie J. Nelson, | Los Angeles Times
Van Doren Rubber Co. owed some of its success to Southern California’s burgeoning skateboard culture and gained national recognition when Sean Penn wore Vans in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
James Van Doren and his older brother Paul had only sample sneakers to offer when they opened their first store, in Anaheim, in 1966. They took a dozen orders in the morning and delivered custom canvas deck shoes, made in their adjacent factory, in the afternoon.
Operating as the Van Doren Rubber Co., the brothers and two other co-founders planned to succeed by cutting out the middleman and selling their distinctive thick rubber-soled shoes directly to the public.
By the early 1970s, the company owed some of its success to Southern California’s burgeoning skateboard culture. The shoes were especially valued for the sticky rubber soles that helped skaters grip their boards — an innovation devised by Van Doren
From the start, the casual shoes were known by a single name: Vans.
I think Andy was up there with Twain, and if there is a paradise he and Twain are probably up there pointing out it’s foibles and inconsistencies.
Andy Rooney: Each Sunday he looked at the everyday
NOVEMBER 5, 2011 | Associated Press
NEW YORK — It would be interesting to know what Andy Rooney would say now about the great beyond.
But if there’s a hereafter for the once lovably cantankerous commentator on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” he, even as a new arrival, would already have some pointed reactions — and some bones to pick.
Sure, it’s Paradise. But who can sleep with all that harp-playing? Maybe he’s still miffed about the long line at the Pearly Gates. And, though he was never a fashion plate, he might have a beef with wearing white after Labor Day.
That was Rooney’s style during his 92-year life and remarkable career. He shrewdly observed the world he shared with the rest of us, and then gave voice to the everyday vexations and conundrums that afflict us all.
Earlier in 2011, UK singer AMY JADE WINEHOUSE (14th Sept 1983 – 23rd July 2011) died at the age of 27 thereby joining what Kurt Cobain’s mother called that “stupid club” meaning famous musicians who die at 27. There are even sites devoted to the subject including www.forever27.co.uk.
Amy’s talent, which in my opinion rivaled Barbra Striesand’s, was matched by a thirst for drugs and misadventure. The media became clogged with images of her slurring, stumbling and imbibing, not only in her free time but during professional appearances. Living in a flashing, throbbing, fishbowl can’t be easy for anyone, let alone a sensitive, artistic and perhaps troubled young woman who seemed to surround herself “with the wrong kind of people.”
When she was found dead much speculation raged about the cause of death with a drug overdose being speculated. Alas, it was an alcohol overdose. An album of previously unreleased material of hers will be released just in time for Christmas this year which will perhaps add a gloss of romance and wonder to her untimely demise.
It is far braver and better to sober up, to move away from bad influence, to come to respect and loves one self than it is to crawl into a bottle or pipe or straw or capsule. I hope that message doesn’t get lost when remembering her life, too. Amy Winehouse was a daughter, wife, friend, client, artist and human now after death she has become a commodity and hopefully a cautionary tale.
Amy Winehouse’s Official Cause of Death: Alcohol
Spin | By Marc Hogan | October 26, 2011
A U.K. coroner has finalized a report on the death of 27-year-old British soul star Amy Winehouse, ruling the “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good” singer died from excessive alcohol consumption.
Coroner Suzanne Greenaway has issued a verdict of “death by misadventure” — the same cause of death famously given for Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones in 1969 — according to the AP, stating that Winehouse’s demise in London on July 23 was the result of intentionally choosing to drink alcohol, no matter the risks. Winehouse’s blood alcohol content at the time of her death was more than five times above the legal drunk-driving level, a pathologist reportedly said today at the singer’s inquest — enough to stop her breathing. Per Winehouse’s doctor, Dr. Christina Romete, the singer had abstained from alcohol for a period of time, but taken up drinking again in the days before her death. A detective stated empty vodka bottles were recovered from her bedroom.
Personally I would chose Taco flavored Doritos, which I’d bet is a re-issue of the old, less orange, nacho cheese flavor. Farewell Arch, 97 years is a pretty good run on this planet.
West’s daughter tells the Dallas Morning News that the family will sprinkle Doritos at West’s funeral this coming Saturday. “We are tossing Doritos chips in before they put the dirt over the urn,” she says. “He’ll love it.”
Oddly, this Doritos at a funeral theme is reminiscent of a “Doritos® – Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist – Casket” where a man fakes his death so he can enjoy spending time in a casket full of Doritos.
Arch West, in the 1960s. Image Gittings Portraits, NYT
Mr West's final tribute is similar to this wanna be tv spot "Doritos® - Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist - Casket."
Doritos Creator Dead, to be Buried with Chips
By IBTimes Staff Reporter | September 26, 2011 11:47 AM EDT
Arch West, a former Frito-Lay executive and creator of Doritos, will be buried with the chips that made him famous.
The 97-year-old died of natural causes on Sept. 20 at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, his family confirmed in a statement over the weekend.
During a graveside service scheduled for 10:30 a.m. this Saturday at the Restland Memorial Park, his family has plans to toss Doritos chips in “before they put the dirt over the urn,” West’s daughter Jana Hacker told The Dallas Morning News.
In 1961, while on vacation in San Diego, West tried fried tortilla chips for the first time at a local snack shack. According to his daughter, West’s original Doritos idea received a “lukewarm” corporate response, but eventually his marketing research led to the roll out of the tortilla chip.
Doritos officially arrived in the U.S. in 1964 where it has since expanded to 23 flavors, including Cool Ranch, Nacho Cheese and 1st Degree Burn Blazin’ Jalapeno. Internationally, the company has developed nearly 100 flavors, although some have been discontinued.
This has been a week of immense losses in the technology field. While much ink has been poured and pixels twinkled over the passing of Steve Jobs of Apple, another great man in American technology, Dennis Ritchie passed away, too.
By creating C, Ritchie gave birth to the concept of open systems. C was developed so they could port Unix to any computer, and so that programs written on one platform (and the skills used to develop them) could be easily transferred to another. -Wired
It may seem unfair to remember one man’s life based on another’s but I think this wonderfully written, but long piece comparing and contrasting the contributions of both men does a nice job of showing, really, just how important Mr Ritchie’s contributions were.
Who wins? We all do. And now, it’s too late to personally thank either of them.
Dennis Ritchie accepting technology award from Bill Clinton. Image wikipedia
Ritchie on the left, Jobs on the right. Image Wired.
Was Dennis Ritchie more important than Steve Jobs?
OCTOBER 13, 2011BY GEOFF DUNCAN | www.digitaltrends.com
It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, but the loss of two industry giants within a week makes us wonder: who’s contribution to modern technology is more important?
Computing pioneer Dennis Ritchie died this past weekend at age 70, becoming the second technology giant to pass within a week — the other, of course, being Apple’s Steve Jobs. Although Jobs was unquestionably the better-known figure, Ritchie was the creator of the C programming language and one of the primary developers of the Unix operating system, both of which have had profound impacts on modern technology. Unix and C lie at the heart of everything from Internet servers to mobile phones, set-top boxes and software. They have exerted tremendous influence on almost all current languages and operating systems. And, these days, computers are everywhere.
The coinciding events lead to an obvious question: Who was more important to modern technology, Ritchie or Jobs? It’s a classic apples-to-oranges question… but the search for an answer sheds a bit of light on what lead to the high-tech revolution and all the cool toys we have today.
Dennis Ritchie, Unix, and C
Dennis Ritchie was a computer scientist in the truest definition: He earned a degree in physics and applied mathematics from Harvard in the the 1960s and followed his father to work at Bell Labs, which was one of the hotbeds of tech development in the United States. By 1968 Ritchie had completed his Ph.D., and from 1969 to 1973 he developed the C programming language for use with the then-fledgling Unix operating system. The language was named C because it developed out of another language called B, created by Ken Thompson (with some input from Ritchie) for use with Multics, a Unix precursor. So, yes, even the name is geeky.
“Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of power, corruption and environmental mismanagement,” Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai, Image Lantern Books
Wangari Maathai, image takingrootfilm.com
Wangari Maathai, you were beautiful inside and out. Thanks for all the trees.
Wangari Maathai, who died on September 25 aged 71, won the Nobel Peace Prize for encouraging women in rural Kenya to plant trees; from that simple idea sprouted a powerful movement that challenged what she saw as the incompetent, corrupt and often brutal rule of many male-dominated regimes in post-colonial Africa.
Wangari Maathai did not seek to excuse or to forget the legacies of colonialism. But as the decades passed she grew increasingly frustrated with the enduring factionalism and opportunism among the continent’s male rulers. “Fifty years down the road we ought to be doing things differently,” she said in an interview recently. “You cannot blame corruption in Africa on colonialism. You cannot blame [colonialism for] the excessive luxurious lifestyles that African leaders assume. You cannot blame [it for] the mismanagement of the economy or the fact that we have not invested adequately in education. Yes, colonialism was terrible, but we ought to be moving away from that by now.”
Inevitably the targets of her wrath struck back, sometimes literally. She was beaten up several times and dismissed as a “crazy woman” when protesting against the policies of the Kenyan dictator-turned-President Daniel arap Moi. Her husband divorced her in the early 1980s, accusing her of adultery. Wangari Maathai suggested that the real reason was that she was “too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn and too hard to control”. It was a reputation she did nothing to dispel when the divorce court found against her: she accused the judges of being “either incompetent or corrupt” and was promptly sentenced to six months in jail for contempt (only to be released three days later after she agreed to “apologise”).
