At the time of the implementation of the program Gemini NASA was preparing a program for Apollo three manned space ships flights. The basis of the program Apollo were rockets designed by Wernher von Braun, i. e. Saturn 1, Saturn 1B and Saturn 5 (weight 2,900 tons, move 3,400 tons).

The rocket Saturn 1B was prepared at the Cape Kennedy on the ramp 34 (without fuel), on the edge of the rocked in the height of 60 m the entire spaceship was placed. This was supposed to be the first test manned flight carried out on February 21, 1967. The failure of the communication equipment at the beginning of the test caused moving the start to the evening hours. Right at the beginning, there were scary shouts: „Fire in the spaceship! " At the same time, flames appeared. The rescuers were unable to open the entrance immediately, so the interior of the ship was engulfed by the fire. The three astronauts in the cabin were dead; they had suffocated by the toxic gases within 10 seconds. It was a devastating event for all, for NASA, for the team of astronauts, for the whole of America, even for the whole world. After seven hours, the ship cooled down and the charred bodies were finally pulled out.

The year of 1967 was a year of disasters for the cosmonautics. Another tragedy took place on the other side of the globe: On 23rd April 23, Vladimir M. Komarov tragically died in the Soyuz 1. After this tragedy, the Inquiry Committee suggested 1,700 suggestions for improvements, out of which about 1,300 were implemented.

Before the final tests, the first crew of astronauts required that their crew was called Apollo 1 At first, NASA did not approve of their wish, but after the tragedy, the request was granted. The creators of spaceships CM, SM and LEM took their creation in a much more responsible way and made many improvements regardless the demands of the politicians. There were three more test flights without crew carried out (Apollo 4 to 9 November 1967, the Apollo 5 - January 22, 1968, Apollo 6 - 4 April 1968) and only after successful tests; the Appolo was loaded with its crew.

20 flights were planned originally, but the initial program failed to be followed due to several reasons, it was followed neither in the planned sequence, nor in the planned numbers. The last three expeditions were cancelled in 1970 because of lack of funds. The first manned landing on the moon was planned to be performed by Apollo 10. As the plan failed, any of the crews were supposed to meet the target - Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 – any of them, as nothing was possible to plan in advance.