After almost having drown after the splashdown of the Mercury landing capsule "Liberty Bell 7" Virgil Grissom becomes more and more critical against his employer NASA and does not make many friends by this behavior. He becomes the member of the astronaut crew which is hated most.
At the same time there are several accidents with a pure oxygen atmosphere for reason:
September 9, 1962
San Antonio, Texas: Fire accident with pure oxygen atmosphere in a space cabin simulator at San Antonio in Texas. Two astronauts on the Brooks Air Force Base at San Antonio in Texas should live in a pure oxygen atmosphere for 14 days. There should be tested the effect of a long flight in a pure oxygen atmosphere. On the 13th day fire breaks out whereas one of the astronauts is heavily injured. Both passengers are collapsing by smoke poisoning.
November 17, 1962
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Fire accident in an oxygen laboratory of the "U.S." Navy because of an oxygen atmosphere. In an oxygen laboratory of the "US" navy in the Air Crew Equipment Laboratory (ACEL) at Philadelphia fire is breaking out during exchanging a bulb because the atmosphere has got much too much oxygen and during the exchange of the bulb a spark provokes the fire. The clothes of the four inmates of the oxygen laboratory catch fire. Despite of the flight within 40 seconds all are hurt.
Grissom about the Apollo space ship: "A bucket full of screws". Grissom means that the Apollo space ship is only "a heap of scrap", and he says it in public. According to the plan of the NASA astronaut Grissom shall be the commander of the "maiden flight" on February 21, 1967.
Later he is foreseen as the "first man on the moon" . But this honor makes no impression to Grissom because he means that the Apollo atmosphere ship would be worse than Gemini was. Grissom says in an interview even in public that Apollo would be not more than "a bucket full of screws." Grissom is annoying with his critics about Apollo. At every boarding he inspects the atmosphere ship and he finds always "something". He is "a lonely warner in the desert" since years.
1966
Grissom is not the lonely warner. There is another one, Thomas Ronald Baron, safety inspector of "North American Aviation". Baron also reports constantly from flashy carelessness at the NASA Baron claims in 1966 the "stunning nuisances" at the launch pad again and again:
-- during fueling the rocket protection suits are missing so only a part of the crew can work the other crew members are sleeping or playing cards
-- workers are smoking near the fuel pipes
-- workers are organizing spontaneously parties with rubbing alcohol.
April 28, 1966
Torrance, California: Outbreak of a fire with a pure oxygen atmosphere during an Apollo test of the life keeping systems at Torrance. During a test run at Torrence at the Apollo life keeping systems which are working with pure oxygen fire is breaking out. [
So, NASA is absolutely warned that a pure oxygen atmosphere can provoke a fire easily].
Mid 1966?
Threats of murder against Grissom? Since 1966 Grissom allegedly gets threats of murder. According to members of his family the threats of murder come from circles of the NASA itself, from persons who are responsible for the "space program". This goes that far that Grissom is put under surveillance some time [
for his protection] and he is accommodated in special safe lodgings.
(
In: American Patriot Friends Network: Was The Apollo Moon Landing Fake? www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm; In August 2006 the threats of murder cannot be found any more on the website)
[
Question: Why did Grissom not leave the Apollo project?
There is the big question why Grissom did not leave the Apollo project when he precisely sees that the Apollo atmosphere ship is unsuitable. Is more behind? Or Grissom mean that he could change the corrupt NASA structures? Or when he had refused to work he had got a prison sentence by NASA because the astronauts were under military order? Or were there threats of murder when he would quit? Or did Grissom want to be a "hero" despite of all? All speculations are possible...]
December 1966
Apollo does not function - nightmare Apollo. At the end of 1966 there are listed over 20,000 failures at Apollo 1. [
But this is secret]. Experts consider Apollo as a "technical nightmare". According to Grissom the best engineers and the best "scientists" of the "USA" have invented a scrap heap with almost no budget limits. Every later Apollo mission of Apollo 2 to Apollo 10 has listed about 20,000 failures. [
So the failure rate is not changing until Apollo 10, and since Apollo 11 all would have functioned smoothly...]
CONCLUSION OF PART 1