05/20/2026
As part of our “A to Z: Discovering Kent County” series, we are happy to highlight Roger B. Chaffee for the letter R!
Born in Grand Rapids in 1935, Chaffee grew up on Grand Rapids’ southeast side with a passion for engineering and flight. He attended Dickinson School and later Grand Rapids Central High School. He wasn’t flashy, but he was steady - competitive in cross country, strong academically, and known for a dry, understated sense of humor that often surfaced at just the right moment. As a kid, he built model airplanes, took apart mechanical objects, and even worked multiple jobs to pay for flying lessons at a local airfield.
After graduating from Purdue University with a degree in aeronautical engineering, Chaffee married Martha Horn, and the couple later had two children, Sheryl and Stephen. He joined the United States Navy as a pilot and reconnaissance officer before being selected by NASA in 1963 as one of the agency’s youngest astronauts. Despite the demands of his career, he was described as grounded and family-centered.
Known for his calm demeanor and technical precision, Chaffee served as a capsule communicator during the Gemini program before being assigned to Apollo 1, the first crewed Apollo mission. Tragically, on January 27, 1967, a fire ignited during a launchpad test and killed Chaffee, along with astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White. The fire, caused by an electrical spark in the pure-oxygen environment, spread rapidly through the command module, and the crew was unable to escape because of the hatch design. The disaster led to major safety reforms that helped pave the way for future missions, including the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
Today, Chaffee’s legacy lives on across Kent County through schools, memorials, and the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium - honoring the quiet, determined kid from Grand Rapids who helped push humanity toward the Moon.
