13 Minutes to the Moon: 4. Fire to the Phoenix

Nasa’s ambitions for a historic Moon landing by the end of the 1960s are threatened by a deadly launchpad inferno. Three astronauts are killed, and it is one of the Apollo programme’s darkest moments. After making safety changes, Nasa turns tragedy into triumph. It sends a crew into space, tests the Apollo spacecraft, and paves the way for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s legendary first steps on the lunar surface.

Hosted by Kevin Fong.

Starring:
George Abbey
Walt Cunningham
Glynn Lunney
Gerry Griffin
John Aaron
Jerry Bostick

Courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project:
Chris Kraft
Gene Kranz
Wally Schirra
George Jeffs

Courtesy of CBS News:
Gus Grissom
Ed White
Roger Chaffee

Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music
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www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes