CalendarZ

    • English English
    • español español
    • français français
    • português português
    • русский русский
    • العربية العربية
    • 简体中文 简体中文
  • Home
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • On This Day
  • Tools
    • Date converter
    • Age Calculator
  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. February
  4. 15
  5. Roger B. Chaffee

Births on February 15

Roger B. Chaffee
1935Feb, 15

Roger B. Chaffee

Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
Roger Bruce Chaffee (; February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American naval officer, aviator and aeronautical engineer who was a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program.

Chaffee was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he became an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Central High School in 1953, and accepted a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. He began his college education at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was involved in the fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma. He transferred to Purdue University in 1954, continuing his involvement in Phi Kappa Sigma and obtaining his private pilot's license.

After graduating from Purdue in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Chaffee completed his Navy training and was commissioned as an ensign. He began pilot training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, flying aircraft such as the T-34, T-28, and A3D. He became quality and safety control officer for Heavy Photographic Squadron 62 (VAP-62). His time in this unit included taking crucial photos of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, earning him the Air Medal. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1966.

Along with thirteen other pilots, Chaffee was selected to be an astronaut as part of NASA Astronaut Group 3 in 1963. He served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions and received his first spaceflight assignment in 1966 as the third-ranking pilot on Apollo 1. In 1967, he died in a fire along with fellow astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Ed White during a pre-launch test for the mission at what was then the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34, Florida. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and a second Air Medal.

References

  • Roger B. Chaffee

Choose Another Date

Events on 1935

  • 26Feb

    Treaty of Versailles

    Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
  • 16Mar

    Treaty of Versailles

    Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
  • 25May

    Big Ten Conference

    Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • 25Jun

    Soviet Union

    Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Colombia are established.
  • 15Sep

    Swastika

    Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika.

About CalendarZ

CalendarZ

In addition of showing the dates of significant holidays and events; CalendarZ enables you easily check out the time remaining to a certain date and all other details.

Our Partners

WoWDeals : All Deals in One Place

Quick Navigation

  • Home
  • Upcoming Holidays
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • Blog
  • Age Calculator
  • On This Day

© 2025 CalendarZ. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us / Privacy Policy

English   |   español   |   français   |   português   |   русский   |   العربية   |   简体中文