Lieutenant Commander Roger Bruce Chaffee

1935 - 1967  (31 years)

• Name	Roger Bruce Chaffee
  Title	Lieutenant Commander
  Birth	15 Feb 1935	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan
  Gender	Male
  Military Service	U.S. Navy
  	NROTC at Illinois Institute of Technology. Commissioned ensign in the U.S. Navy. Pilot training and stationed at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Between April 4, 1960, and October 25, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Chaffee flew 82 reconnaissance missions over Cuba, sometimes up to three per day. For this he was awarded the Air Medal.
  Occupation	1963
  	A group of thirteen pilots, including Chaffee was selected to be astronauts as part of NASA Astronaut Group 3. He served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions. He received his first spaceflight assignment in 1966 as the pilot on Apollo 1. (Crew designations at the time were; Command Pilot, Senior Pilot, and Pilot. On January 27,1967, during an Apollo capsule pre-flight test,he died in a fire on the launch pad along with fellow astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Ed White. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame.
  		Roger B. Chaffee Roger B. Chaffee working in Mission Control Center, Houston, during the Gemini-Titan 3 mission.
  		Apollo 1 Apollo 1
  		Apollo I Crew Chaffee (Right) was selected with Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White as the crew for the first Apollo Mission. On January 27, 1967 they were in the space capsule participating in a test for the scheduled February 21 launch. Tragically a fire started inside the capsule and all three men lost their lives.
  Death	27 Jan 1967	Cape Canaveral, Brevard, Florida
  Burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States
  		Grissom & Chaffee Graves The headstones of Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee on the occasion of the NASA Day of Remembrance ceremony in 2013.
  		Roger Chaffee Headstone.
  Person ID	I64492	Nagel
  Last Modified	1 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	Donald Lynm Chaffee,   b. 9 Aug 1910, Greenville, Montcalm, Michigan d. 24 Oct 1998, Hinsdale, DuPage, Illinois (Age 88 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Blanche May Mosher,   b. 3 Jul 1912, Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan d. 24 May 1996, Hinsdale, DuPage, Illinois (Age 83 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	31 Mar 1932	Plainfield, Kent, Michigan
  Family ID	F19956	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Martha Louise Horn
  Marriage	24 Aug 1957	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma
  Children	1. Sheryl Lyn Chaffee  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]   2. Stephen Chaffee  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
  Family ID	F21185	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 15 Feb 1935 - Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan Marriage - 24 Aug 1957 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Death - 27 Jan 1967 - Cape Canaveral, Brevard, Florida Burial - - Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos		Roger Chaffee. Roger Chaffee.
  		Roger Chaffee. Roger was selected to be the communication expert for the first Apollo mission. At the time, he was 31 years old and the youngest American astronaut to be selected for a mission. Tragically on January 27, 1967 the crew was participating in a test when a fire broke out in the capsule killing all three men.