Roger B. Chaffee-Aviator Ad Astra

Acclaimed by fellow NASA astronauts, Roger Chaffee was a brilliant young man whose future was tragically cut short. He, along with Gus Grissom and Ed White, were killed when a fire erupted inside their Apollo capsule. Sadly, the moon landing was a success because of their sacrifice.

Many documentary films have told the story of the moon landing. But Chaffee's part in that story has not. NASA astronauts Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Gus Grissom (Apollo 1), and Jack Lousma (STS-3 & Skylab) help tell why this space rookie was a great choice to pilot Apollo 1. This film, by local filmmaker Daniel Joel Deal, also captures sculptor J. Brett Grill’s construction of the bronze statue of Chaffee erected just outside the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum in 2018. Our audience will have the rare opportunity to see extra footage not included in the film and enjoy audience Q&A with the filmmaker after the intermission.

Guests will enjoy a 15-minute intermission with refreshments in the lobby. The film is one hour and we will have 30 minutes of additional footage and conversation after intermission and before we conclude the second part of the film.

This film is part of a three-film season offering. You can purchase the remaining three season films for $21 ($9 savings) or $10 for the individual film. To order the season tickets, click on the "Passport to Adventure 2022-2023" listing that appears first. If you want single tickets for the Roger B, Chaffee film, scroll down to November 7 to purchase individual seats.