GEMINI AND APOLLO 201 



accurate and were being corrected, while others were denied or rejected. 

 The fact that Baron, a subordinate employee, was allowed to testify 

 and that Teague also invited anyone else who wished to testify to 

 step forward, added credibility to the Teague investigation. 



On Mav 10, Webb, Seamans, and Mueller returned to the subcom- 

 mittee and presented their recommendations. Taking up each of the 

 recommendations of the Review Board, NASA indicated that drastic 

 measures were being instituted to eliminate combustible materials 

 from the spacecraft, to design a new hatch which would enable escape 

 from within in a few seconds rather than the 90 seconds previously 

 required, space suits were being redesigned to make them fire- 

 proof, materials in the spacecraft were being fireproofed, and many 

 other measures were being taken to prevent leakage at metal joints 

 and otherwise recondition the spacecraft to guarantee the safety of the 

 astronauts. A nitrogen/oxygen mixture was substituted for pure oxygen 

 at ground level, going toward pure oxygen for use in space. 



EFFECT OF THE TEAGUE COMMITTEE HEARINGS 



Despite the committee's somewhat ambiguous handling of the 

 Phillips report and the North American contract, the Teague sub- 

 committee hearings were impressive in their thoroughness. Astronaut 

 Frank Borman, as a member of the review board, bore a heavy burden 

 of the testimony after the fire, and also personally assisted the sub- 

 committee members in their excruciatingly personal examination of 

 every phase of the Cape Kennedy details. Borman had these con- 

 clusions: 



My own particular association with the committee was most frequent during 

 the investigation into the Apollo 204 fire. The investigation was tough, impartial, 

 and a positive factor in the ultimate success of the Apollo program. Had the com- 

 mittee been so inclined, it is conceivable the lunar program could have been delayed 

 or abandoned at that point. Instead, it proceeded with renewed vigor and determina- 

 tion. I am confident that the maturity of the chairman and senior members of the 

 committee had a great deal to do with its independent weighing of the facts. * * * 

 Congressman Teague and the committee members contributed immeasurably to the 

 final success of the program. 



Col. Rocco Petrone also observed concerning Teague: 



To me, it was his actions during the fire that kept us at NASA alive. He very 

 coolly and smoothly played his role in oversight to make sure all things came out, 

 and at the same time he kept us together — -because there was a political opportunity 

 to make NASA a scapegoat. 



Although Representative H. R. Gross (Republican of Iowa) 

 repeatedly called for Webb's resignation as a result of the fire, the 

 committee rallied to the support of both Webb and the Apollo pro- 

 gram. Wydler, a strong NASA critic, stated as the hearings ended: 



