In the 1966 photo above, NASA technicians work on the Spacecraft 012 Command Module in Cape Kennedy, Florida. During a launch pad test on Jan. 27, 1967, a flash fire erupted inside of the capsule and a stuck hatch door led to the deaths of the three Apollo crew members inside.

(NASA via AP)

At a Glance

On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 tragedy, NASA has created an exhibit honoring the three astronauts that were killed.The hatch that trapped Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee inside of the burning capsule is on display.The families of the astronauts have contributed and gave their blessings to the exhibit.

In honor of the three astronauts killed in the 1967 Apollo 1 fire, NASA opened an exhibit Friday, on the 50th anniversary of the incident.

The exhibit, located in Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, is called "," according to a release from NASA. It showcases clothing, tools and models that help define the men as their families saw them.

The hatch from the burning spacecraft, which had been tucked away for a half-century, is the most prominent feature. When it became stuck on Jan. 27, 1967, it trapped Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee inside their capsule at the now-abandoned Launch Complex 34 pad.

"Although the fire took place across the river on Launch Pad 34, their story didn’t end there and their legacy lives on today," Sheryl Chaffee, daughter of Roger Chaffee, said in the release.

The exhibit is only a few miles away from the launch pad, which was dismantled in 1968 after the launch of Apollo 7.

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The intent of the exhibit was to introduce the astronauts to generations who never learned about them and may be unfamiliar with the early space program.

Next to the failed hatch is a redesigned hatch that was used on all the following Apollo missions, NASA also said. It is displayed as a symbol of all the improvements made throughout the Apollo program and NASA overall.

"That part of the exhibit is a story of determination and resolve and also something as elemental as a hatch – the complexities of just one component in a vehicle that has over 2 million parts," NASA’s Luis Berrios, who co-led the tribute design, said in the release. "After the loss of the crew in that tragic event, NASA learned how to really look at every piece of a rocket and imagine what could happen and it made the spacecraft safer and allowed us to get to the moon, land on it and even with Apollo 13, to recover that crew safely."

Families of the crew went on a private tour of the exhibit Wednesday and attended a memorial Thursday, the Associated Press reported. A gathering at the abandoned launch pad where the accident occurred was scheduled for Friday evening.

"Ultimately, this is a story of hope, because these astronauts were dreaming of the future that is unfolding today," former astronaut Bob Cabana said in the release. "Generations of people around the world will learn who these brave astronauts were and how their legacies live on through the Apollo successes and beyond."

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