To the Stars through Difficulty...

“Stuart Roosa was one of the ‘can-do’ spacefarers who helped to take America, and all humankind, to the Moon. He exemplified the talents that all NASA strives for - service to our nation, technical know-how and an unbridled creative spirit.” -Daniel S. Goldin, NASA Administrator
When you think of MVP (Most Valuable Player), you most likely think of sports. Stuart Roosa, however, was chosen as the MVP of the Apollo 9 support crew. Things had gone wrong for the astronauts right from the beginning of their flight. As CapCom, Stuart Roosa had helped the crew the whole way. At the end of the flight, he was given the honor of hanging the Apollo 9 plaque on the wall of Mission Control signifying that he was the MVP because of his hard work and willingness to help the crew.

These flames are from the lift-off of Apollo 9, for which Stuart Roosa was also CapCom. He was named MVP for the ground crew of Apollo because of how he helped the Apollo 9 crew through all their difficulties.	Apollo 9 was the first test of the Lunar Module in space. It was launched on March 3, 1969.

“If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds, but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.” -Wilbur Wright
*JANUARY 27, 1967*
	It was a simple, routine check on January 27, 1967, and no one thought that anything would go wrong. You expected troubles in space, but not three buildings away on the launch pad. Suddenly, the Apollo 1 capsule was in flames, and there was nothing anyone could do – not even Stuart Roosa who was the CapCom (Capsule Communicator) that day. He hurried down to the launch pad and was there when they opened the charred capsule. Stuart Roosa was no stranger to fire. In 1958, he was working in Oregon as a smokejumper, parachuting down to extinguish forest fires. He earned himself the nickname of Smoky. Even though he had worked on so many fires, he would never forget that smell of Apollo 1.
The Apollo 1 space capsule was consumed by a terrible fire in which all three astronauts perished. Stuart Roosa was Capsule Communicator (CapCom) when the emergency call from the Apollo 1 astronauts came.