BirthFactDeath (x) Friday 27th of January 1967 57 years ago |
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US-astronauts 40-year-old Gus Grisson, 33-year-old Edward H. White and 31-year-old Roger B. Chaffee are burned alive in their Apollo/Saturn 204 in John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, United States. Grissom suffered severe third degree burns on over one-third of his body and his spacesuit was mostly destroyed. White suffered third degree burns on almost half of his body and a quarter of his spacesuit had melted away. Chaffee suffered third degree burns over almost a quarter of his body and a small portion of his spacesuit was damaged. The autopsy report confirmed that the primary cause of death for all three astronauts was cardiac arrest caused by high concentrations of carbon monoxide. Burns suffered by the crew were not believed to be major factors, and it was concluded that most of them had occurred postmortem. Asphyxiation occurred after the fire melted the astronauts' suits and oxygen tubes, exposing them to the lethal atmosphere of the cabin. |
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