pollo 1 (initially designated AS-204) was the first manned mission of the U.S. Apollo manned lunar landing program. The planned low Earth orbital test of the Apollo CommandService Module never made its target launch date of February 21 1967 because a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test on January 27 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 killed all three crew membersCommand Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom Senior Pilot Edward H. White II and Pilot Roger B. Chaffeeand destroyed the Command Module (CM). The name Apollo 1 chosen by the crew was officially retired by NASA in commemoration of them on April 24 1967