Apollo 1 capsule. Burnt command module of the Apollo 1 spacecraft being loaded onto the back of a truck. This damage occurred on 27 January 1967 during a routine simulated launch test on board the Apollo Saturn V rocket. An electrical short circuit caused the fire, which engulfed the module and killed all 3 crew members that were on board. The crew were: Edward H. White II, Virgil I. Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee. This was to be the first manned Apollo space flight.