Apollo 1 crew. Crew selected for the first manned Apollo space flight. From left to right the astronauts are: Edward H. White II, Virgil I. Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee. This Apollo 1 crew was killed on 27 January 1967 during a routine simulated launch test on board the Apollo Saturn V rocket. An electrical short circuit caused a fire that engulfed the Apollo command module in seconds, killing all 3 crew members.