Apollo 1 documentary

[Blackstar]

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-022225a-apollo-1-documentary-premiere.html


http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-031615a-apollo-1-documentary-director-mark-craig-interview.html

http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/004039.html
News from the filmmakers:

    European TV premiere next month...

    The new feature documentary "Apollo 1" will be broadcast on ARTE in Germany and France on Saturday 9th August at the following times: 20:15 (Germany) / 20:55 (France). Additional broadcasts will take place on these dates:

        Tuesday 19 August - 8:55 (Germany) / 9:27 (France)
        Monday 25 August - 8:55 (Germany) / 9:25 (France)

    It will also be available to view online.

    It will be broadcast in the UK later in the year, and we are working on making it available in other worldwide territories also. Details will follow as soon as they are confirmed.

[jacqmans]

This will air again on Friday August 29 at 8:55am (Germany)

[Blackstar]

I've been talking to somebody who is working on an Apollo 1 book. Still a ways from publishing, but I'm glad that the topic is finally getting the attention that it deserves.

[Steve G]

The Facebook group "APOLLO SPACECRAFT HISTORY" has excellent coverage on the Apollo 1 fire, images and info I had never seen.

[LtCmdr]

Additionally: available in October 2025:
.

[mtakala24]

Source: The film's FB page:

A UK broadcast of Apollo 1 will take place on Channel 4 towards the end of the year (date and time to be confirmed).

[mtakala24]

APOLLO 1 will be screened on Channel 4 on Sunday 7th December at 9.30pm.

[Blackstar]

Anybody see it? Any good?

[Star One]

Was just shown this Sunday on Channel 4 in the UK, I’ve recorded it but not watched it yet. It’s on the Channel 4 app to watch.

[mtakala24]

Saw it. A good documentary, but didn't reach my top 5 from previous 10 years. Could have gone deeper into the accident sequence or the investigation, but I understand where they drew the line there.

Still enjoyable watch. Hopefully airs in more countries soon.

[LittleBird]

Saw it. A good documentary, but didn't reach my top 5 from previous 10 years. Could have gone deeper into the accident sequence or the investigation, but I understand where they drew the line there.

Still enjoyable watch. Hopefully airs in more countries soon.

Only skimmed but expect to properly watch tonight. Was impressed by what I saw-not sensationalised as far as I could see, and has some participants who I've never seen on TV, like Rockwell's John Tribe who is well known via e.g. Challenger books.

I'd also be surprised if I'd put it top of heap, but way better than I'd have expected from C4 these days.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I watched it last evening. Overall, a decent film, respectful and with relevant interviewees with good stories to tell. That part of the film was good. But I have to say, for a film titled Apollo 1, I think the Apollo 1 part was short and superficial, compared to the rest of the film. The run-up to Apollo 1 was too long and expanded and not necessary in my opinion.
For a documentary about Apollo 1 I expected more about the aftermath. And how that led to a better spacecraft and why their deaths weren't in vain in the end. And the impact it had on NASA and the people. Only Wally Schirra said something about NASA wearing that black armband way too long. The end with the Shuttle and SLS was in my opinion irrelevant to the story.
Being a film maker myself I see this film is torn between two ideas. The writer/director wanted to tell the story of U.S. spaceflight and the story of Apollo 1. And in this film both of these stories are lacking depth.

And I know this documentary is meant for the general public, but nevertheless there were a few nitpicks I really didn't like. Every rocket launch had the same audio that sounded more like an SRB firing. A loud bang and then full-force blast, like a solid rocket motor. It's well known that Titans had a distinctive "whooop" sound right before the engines fired. But they gave it that same SRB sound. And they put a Saturn V countdown audiotrack to go with it. Okay, that maybe is too detailed for the general audience but there's enough original audio to get that right and I think it's just laziness to keep using the same incorrect audio.

[Blackstar]

I watched it last evening. Overall, a decent film, respectful and with relevant interviewees with good stories to tell. That part of the film was good. But I have to say, for a film titled Apollo 1, I think the Apollo 1 part was short and superficial, compared to the rest of the film. The run-up to Apollo 1 was too long and expanded and not necessary in my opinion.
For a documentary about Apollo 1 I expected more about the aftermath. And how that led to a better spacecraft and why their deaths weren't in vain in the end. And the impact it had on NASA and the people.

Thanks for the comments. I think that for Apollo 1 there are a few primary areas that require focus and attention:

-the problems at North American before the fire. What were they, were they as bad as some have claimed, and were they being fixed by the time the fire happened? (This also includes looking at things like 100% oxygen and the flammables like velcro, and how the rules were violated.)
-the investigation of the fire, including careful examination of the wreckage, interviews, etc.
-the aftermath, meaning fixing the problems, changing the design, and management and cultural responses.

I think there are other related subjects that don't require much attention because they have been covered elsewhere, like the space race and the overall Apollo program.

[Star One]

Amazed how little of the run time of this was actually taken up by the accident and the investigation. Overall though I thought it was good.

[Blackstar]

Thanks for the comments. I think that for Apollo 1 there are a few primary areas that require focus and attention:

-the problems at North American before the fire. What were they, were they as bad as some have claimed, and were they being fixed by the time the fire happened? (This also includes looking at things like 100% oxygen and the flammables like velcro, and how the rules were violated.)
-the investigation of the fire, including careful examination of the wreckage, interviews, etc.
-the aftermath, meaning fixing the problems, changing the design, and management and cultural responses.

I think there are other related subjects that don't require much attention because they have been covered elsewhere, like the space race and the overall Apollo program.

I'm going to add to my earlier comments. Something that I think also deserves attention under the aftermath category is the congressional hearings. Walter Mondale pressured NASA after the accident. He got some grief for that. But he was doing his duty, performing congressional oversight. The radio program "Washington Goes to the Moon" covered that subject, and I wrote about a bunch of their segments, including the one on Mondale, here:

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3901/1

[jacqmans]

Apollo 1 — Feature Documentary Screening
Thursday, January 22, 2026 | 5:30 PM

Center for Space Education | Kennedy Space Center

Join The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and special guests for an evening screening of the new feature documentary Apollo 1 at the Center for Space Education at Kennedy Space Center. General Admission, Complimentary and Early Access + Reserved Seating tickets are available.

The evening will begin with Early Access, Meet & Greet reception, followed by the film screening and a post-screening panel discussion with the director, cast members and special guests.

Tickets: https://sites.grenadine.co/sites/amf/en/apollo1/home

[LittleBird]

Having watched it over Christmas, I remain generally positive, but was amazed that the fact the cabin was at 100% oxygen wasn't mentioned until after the account of the fire, and then was essentially ignored. I'd have thought that any even moderately technically aware viewer would be wanting to know "why?" on hearing that.