1967, January 22, Gus Grissom, an American astronaut, held an unauthorized press conference in which he told reporters that the United States was “at least a decade away” from even contemplating a lunar mission. He was severely rebuked for giving that interview without permission. Following this reprimand, Gus Grissom later came out of a water tank reduced gravity simulation of the supposed lunar landing module, and hung a lemon attached to a coat-hanger in front of a NASA emblem to indicate to any cameras present, without speaking, what he and his fellow crew members, Roger Chaffee and Edward White, thought of the Apollo programme.

1967: January 27, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed on the launch pad when a flash fire engulfs their command module during testing for the first Apollo/Saturn mission. They are the first U.S. astronauts to die in the line of duty.

Thomas Baron and astronauts killed to keep Apollo program http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfYBJFPuiwE