58 Facts About Roger Chaffee

Roger Bruce Chaffee was an American naval officer, aviator and aeronautical engineer who was a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program.

Roger Chaffee graduated from Central High School in 1953, and accepted a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship.

Roger Chaffee began his college education at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was involved in the fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma.

Roger Chaffee transferred to Purdue University in 1954, continuing his involvement in Phi Kappa Sigma and obtaining his private pilot's license.

Roger Chaffee began pilot training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, flying aircraft such as the T-34, T-28, and A3D.

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Roger Chaffee became quality and safety control officer for Heavy Photographic Squadron 62.

Roger Chaffee served as capsule communicator for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions and received his first spaceflight assignment in 1966 as the third-ranking pilot on Apollo 1.

Roger Chaffee was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and a second Air Medal.

Roger Bruce Chaffee was born on February 15,1935, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the second child of Donald Lynn Chaffee and Blanche May Chaffee.

Roger Chaffee had an older sister, Donna, born two years earlier.

Roger Chaffee was thrilled by the flight and soon after started building model airplanes with his father.

Roger Chaffee excelled as a Boy Scout, earning his first merit badge at the age of thirteen.

Roger Chaffee continued his success by earning four more badges at the age of fourteen.

Roger Chaffee earned four badges for each of the next two years, almost all the badges available at the time.

Roger Chaffee performed well, making the Dean's List and finishing with a B+ average.

Roger Chaffee was passionate about flying, and had a strong aptitude for science and engineering.

Roger Chaffee initially failed the eye exam, but the physician permitted him to retake it the next morning, and he passed.

Roger Chaffee was then allowed to tour on Wisconsin to England, Scotland, France, and Cuba.

Roger Chaffee was hired as a draftsman at a small business near Purdue.

Roger Chaffee joined the Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau engineering honor societies.

In 1955, Roger Chaffee took four flying lessons, but he did not have enough money to get his private pilot's license.

Roger Chaffee soloed on March 29,1957, and obtained his private pilot's license on May 24,1957.

Roger Chaffee earned a Bachelor of Science degree, with distinction, in aeronautical engineering at Purdue in 1957.

Roger Chaffee met his future wife Martha Louise Horn on a double blind date in September 1955.

Roger Chaffee temporarily worked at the base until October 1957, when he attended flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

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Roger Chaffee started his training by flying the T-28 and the T-34.

Roger Chaffee was posted to Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, from August 1958 to February 1959 as a part of Advanced Training Unit 212.

Roger Chaffee's daughter Sheryl was born the day before he left for his first aircraft carrier training.

Roger Chaffee was transferred to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, to continue his training.

Roger Chaffee joined Attack Squadron 44 in September 1959, and from October 1959 to March 1960 he trained with Heavy Attack Squadron 3.

Roger Chaffee received a variety of assignments and participated in multiple training duties over the next several years, spending most of his time in photo reconnaissance squadrons.

Roger Chaffee was stationed at NAS Jacksonville as safety officer and quality control officer for Heavy Photographic Squadron 62 flying the A3D.

Roger Chaffee wrote a quality control manual for the squadron, although some of his peers saw this as too demanding.

Between April 4,1960, and October 25,1962, including during the critical time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Roger Chaffee flew 82 missions over Cuba, sometimes up to three per day, and achieved over 100 flight hours each month.

Roger Chaffee was on a cruise to Africa when his son Stephen was born in Oklahoma City.

Roger Chaffee called them back, and discovered he had been chosen as an astronaut.

Roger Chaffee, with help from his Boy Scout training, foraged for enough food to survive during the three-day training mission.

Roger Chaffee focused on the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility, which the astronauts needed for navigation in space.

At the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Roger Chaffee served as capsule communicator in March 1965 for Gemini 3.

Roger Chaffee never got a seat on a Gemini mission, but was assigned to work on flight control, communications, instrumentation, and attitude and translation control systems in the Apollo program.

Roger Chaffee received his first spaceflight assignment in January 1966, when he was selected for the first crewed Apollo-Saturn flight, AS-204.

Roger Chaffee was reassigned to a second Apollo crew, commanded by Wally Schirra.

Roger Chaffee entered a local Christmas decoration contest and he received first prize.

On January 27,1967, Grissom, White and Roger Chaffee were participating in a "plugs-out" countdown demonstration test at Cape Kennedy in preparation for the planned February 21 launch.

Roger Chaffee lost consciousness because of a lack of oxygen which sent him into cardiac arrest.

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Roger Chaffee died from asphyxia due to the toxic gases from the fire, with burns contributing to his death.

The back of Roger Chaffee's couch was found in the horizontal position, with the lower portion angled towards the floor.

Roger Chaffee's helmet was closed and locked, his restraints were undone, and the hoses and electrical connections to the suit remained connected.

Roger Chaffee's widow received $100,000 from the life insurance portion of the contract the astronauts signed with two publishing firms so they would have exclusive rights to stories and photographs of the astronauts and their families.

Roger Chaffee received $16,250 per year for the life of the contract.

Roger Chaffee is named with his Apollo1 crewmates on the Space Mirror Memorial, which was dedicated in 1991.

Roger Chaffee's name is included on the plaque left on the Moon with the Fallen Astronaut statue in 1971 by the crew of Apollo 15.

Roger B Chaffee scholarship named for him has been awarded annually since 1967 to exceptional students in the Kent Intermediate School District for high school seniors who will be pursuing a career in math and science.

Roger Chaffee was awarded the Navy Air Medal for his involvement in Heavy Photographic Squadron 62.

Roger Chaffee completed 82 classified missions "of paramount military importance to the security of the United States".

Roger Chaffee was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1983 and into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame, on October 4,1997.

Roger Chaffee was later awarded the NASA Ambassador of Exploration Award for involvement in the US space program in 2007.

In 2018 a life-size bronze statue of Roger Chaffee was unveiled outside the Grand Rapids Children's Museum in Roger Chaffee's hometown.