With this memo, the Senate committee staff director gave House and Senate investigators of the Apollo incident a summary of the 1965 Phillips Report. Though the report had little direct bearing on the Apollo disaster, it was proof that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had failed to keep Congress fully informed as required by NASA’s authorizing legislation.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
Memorandum to all committee members from James J. Gehrig, April 26, 1967 Summary of the Phillips Report, April 15, 1967
Apollo 204 and the Phillips Report
America’s manned lunar spaceflight program suffered a tragedy on January 27, 1967, when the Apollo-Saturn 204 (later named Apollo 1) command module burst into flames during a pre-launch test, killing its crew. While the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) internally reviewed the fatal accident, both houses of Congress launched independent investigations. A Senate hearing uncovered a 1965 report by Apollo Program Director Major General Samuel Phillips that revealed problems NASA had not previously disclosed. The discovery of the Phillips Report led to more stringent congressional oversight of NASA.
I think the key question is whether we are going to be limited to information which NASA wants us to have or whether we will be provided with the critical information such as the Phillips report
Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota, Apollo Accident, May 9, 1967
With this memo, the Senate committee staff director gave House and Senate investigators of the Apollo incident a summary of the 1965 Phillips Report. Though the report had little direct bearing on the Apollo disaster, it was proof that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had failed to keep Congress fully informed as required by NASA’s authorizing legislation.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
