Harrowing audio from inside Apollo 1 disaster which killed three astronauts

The Apollo 1 space mission aimed to be the first to land a man on the moon, but it resulted in a horrific and tragic death for those on board.

The saddest part? The crew on board knew that their vessel would never reach the moon.

The 'Block 1' spacecraft was designed only for Earth-orbital tests, and it was also distrusted for its faulty wiring, leaky valves and plethora of technical issues.

Despite their best efforts, the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 1 ship were tragically killed by a fire that swept through the Apollo 1 Command Module during a launch rehearsal test. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee perished in the flames on January 27 1967.

NASA Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

However, what's even more disturbing than the horrific circumstances in which the three brave space voyagers died is the audio clip found from the incident. A user on Reddit shared the unsettling audio clips to a thread known as 'Interestingasf*ck' earlier today, along with photos of the astronauts' space suits following the blaze.

The crackly audio is only 32 seconds long, but what is heard is tragic enough to stay with you forever.

One of the astronauts can be heard panicking, describing a 'fire in the cockpit'. There's a short pause before an exclamation of 'Oh god!' from one of the passengers on board. The audio then goes extremely crackly, indicating that the fire has spread and is causing roaring flames.

One Reddit user who was affected by listening to the audio clip wrote: "I don't understand why this was released, and now I feel worst off for hearing it."

Another added: "I listened to the first 5 sec until he said fire in the cockpit. Judging by the picture, I assume the rest is screaming from people burning alive? I'll pass"

Warning: the audio may be disturbing for some.

Researchers at NASA concluded that the most likely cause of the outbreak of fire in the cockpit was caused by a spark from a short circuit of wires. These wires ran just in front of Grissom's seat. That, combined with the large amount of flammable material in the cabin, caused the fire to spread rapidly.

Off the back of the horrific incident, a number of changes were made to the program, including an outward-opening hatch to quickly escape the vessel if needed. They also removed as much flammable material as possible.