A statue of Grand Rapids native and Apollo Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee will be unveiled Saturday, May 19th in downtown Grand Rapids.
Roger B. Chaffee was a Grand Rapids Central High School graduate and pilot of NASA’s Apollo 1 mission.
Newsreel audio: “Apollo astronauts Roger Chaffee, Edward White and Gus Grissom lose their lives in a tragic flash fire aboard their grounded space capsule. The tragedy occurred during a simulated countdown for the first flight of the Apollo program whose goal is to put a man on the moon by 1970.”
More than 50 years after the tragic launch pad fire in January of 1967, artist J. Brett Grill has cast a bronze statue of Chaffee wearing his flight suit holding his gloves and astronaut helmet will be unveiled in downtown Grand Rapids located outside the Grand Rapids Children’s museum.
Newsreel audio: “Chaffee, never in space, had long experience as a jet test pilot. He was proud and happy that his first flight was to initiate the Apollo program.”
Members of Chaffee’s family, his classmates, the Michigan Preservation Society, Boy Scouts along with Skylab3 and Space Shuttle astronaut, Jack Lousma, will provide the keynote address. The unveiling is scheduled for 1pm at the corner of East Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue NE.
Patrick Center, WGVU News.
Newsreel audio: “Apollo astronauts Chaffee, White and Grissom martyred heroes who gave their lives in total dedication to duty their memory will forever be honored.”