Capturing the Stories of Apollo Before It’s Too Late

Earlier this month, the world lost one of the last remaining heroes of the space race-era when Frank Borman, the commander of the Apollo 8 mission and first space explorer to witness an “Earthrise,” passed away at the age of 95.

A titan of space history, Colonel Borman’s death came just one week after the passing of his fellow Apollo astronaut, Ken Mattingly. It was also one week after the legendary astronaut had agreed to give us an interview to discuss the Apollo 1 tragedy, a turning point in U.S. space history in which Borman played a key role.

The deaths of Borman and Mattingly formed a devastating one-two punch for space enthusiasts around the globe, and for us and other space historians, served as a vivid reminder that the time left with these integral figures of history is limited.

As NASA endeavors to reach the Moon again with its ambitious Artemis missions, the rapid rate at which we are losing the men and women of the 1960s space race cannot be ignored.

Throughout his life, Borman was more than gracious with his time as documentarians worked to catalog the memories of those key figures involved with NASA’s effort to reach the Moon. He gave multiple oral histories, video interviews, and provided countless comments to reporters throughout the years.

But, as we have found, there were still more questions to ask.

Our research into the 1967 Apollo 1 fire brought forward important questions involving NASA’s internal review into the disaster, as well as the decision-making process behind spacecraft designs embraced after the accident, and more.

Colonel Borman was involved with every one of these critical phases and served as the astronaut representative on the investigatory board tasked with uncovering the “hows” and “whys” behind the Apollo 1 accident. And just weeks ago he stood as one of only a few remaining primary sources who could fill in the gaps that remained.

Then, he was gone. And as such, there will forever be a piece of the story left untold.

Having interviewed multiple individuals involved with NASA’s race to beat Russia to the Moon, including program directors and employees on the scene at the time of the 1967 fire, missing an opportunity to talk to a figure like Borman is particularly unfortunate.

In our experience, those Apollo veterans who are still with us are at an age of transparency where they feel unencumbered by canned responses to reporters, or appeasing Congress in order to secure a budget.

As a result, we’ve learned more from asking one simple question: What did you not say then that you want to say now?

To be clear, interviews with historical figures who are in their final chapter come with unique challenges. Memories can be fickle and oftentimes the exhaustion of reliving traumatic events such as the Apollo 1 fire can be overwhelming.

Adding more is the difficulty of narrowing the most crucial questions to ask during what could be one’s final interviews.

Still, the benefits of creating a safe and trusting environment for these men and women to convey their final thoughts cannot be understated. Regrets left unsaid, sources of pride held back by the humble, and seemingly unimportant details that add true value to the history of human space exploration can all emerge.

In our case, an emotional trip to the scene of the Apollo 1 fire with James Gleaves, a technician who is the last remaining survivor from the scene of the accident, unlocked a willingness to discuss the events Gleaves hadn’t spoken about in decades.

As China and the U.S. go head-to-head in a new space race, the lessons of Project Apollo can serve as a guiding light. The challenge becomes uncovering those tales left untold. And it’s a challenge that goes beyond space history.

Individuals who lived through historic events, including, for example, the Holocaust, are leaving us, and so are their stories.

In one example, Mark Felt, the former FBI deputy director and famous “Deep Throat” source in the Watergate scandal, held off on revealing his starring role in one of America’s most scandalous political stories until age 91. Although the Watergate scandal was exposed, others key events of the 20th century will remain mysteries because the right question wasn’t asked at the right time.

As of today, only eight Apollo astronauts remain, and only four Moonwalkers are still alive.

These men and others lived the Apollo mission daily and ac.cumulated countless experiences waiting to be shared as stories. Quality work has already been done, but there is always more that can be added to the story of American space exploration.

As such, historians chronicling U.S. space history and beyond must face the harsh reality that the countdown clock to ask the last question is ticking, and it’s merciless.

Matthew Beddingfield is a former Bloomberg reporter and whistleblower attorney in the Washington, D.C., area who is the grandson of the last remaining survivor from the scene of the Apollo 1 fire. He is currently writing a book about Apollo 1 with co-author George Leopold.

George Leopold is the author of Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom. He is currently writing a book on the Apollo 1 fire with co-author Matthew Beddingfield.

The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.