NASA and its astronauts were excited to launch the first mission of the moon-facing Apollo program in 1967, but tragic events intervened, as a new Channel 4 documentary, Apollo 1: Destination Moon, explains.
Apollo 1 was scheduled to carry veteran NASA astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White, and rookie agency astronaut Roger Chaffee, to Earth orbit to test out the technologies that would help future astronauts land on the moon. It was rumored that Grissom would even command one of the first moon-landing missions. But everything changed on Jan. 27, 1967. A fire erupted in the spacecraft during an Apollo 1 launch test at what is now called Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida. It is believed that a spark, accelerated by a pure oxygen environment and flammable materials, ignited. The astronauts quickly fell unconscious, then died.
The Channel 4 documentary from Stopwatch Productions, 7T1 Films, and Haviland Digital covers how this situation arose, and what NASA took as "lessons learned" from the tragedy. With a renewed commitment to safety, the agency successfully launched the Apollo 8 crew into Earth orbit the following year, and arrived at the end-of-decade deadline for the moon-landing mission Apollo 11 in July 1969, with room to spare.
How to Watch 'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' in the UK
'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' premieres in the U.K. on December 7 at 9:30 p.m. GMT on Channel 4. The premiere date includes the entire documentary (which is to say, it will not air in multiple parts).
The show is also available to stream on the Channel 4 website, which is only officially available for the UK and the Republic of Ireland. If you're living outside of these regions, you will not have access to this show for now.
How to Watch 'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' from anywhere
The documentary's world premiere was at the Boulder International Film Festival in the U.S. in March 2025, and it was temporarily available to stream on the festival's website until about the end of that month. The documentary may eventually be available through an international distributor, but that has not been announced yet.
If you're going to be out of the region when the documentary lands, there's still a chance to watch it on streaming with a VPN. Using a VPN, you can watch Channel 4 from any location on Earth. (Sadly, space isn't an option for streaming… yet.)
While there are lots of great VPN services to choose from, our top pick is NordVPN.
'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' trailers
The official trailer for 'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' was posted on Facebook and YouTube by the production team on Nov. 22.
It shows the tricky balance NASA had to find between risk and reward: the agency knew that astronauts' lives were on the line (as we hear from their friends and families), but also had a mandate from President John F. Kennedy (shown in the trailer) to reach the moon before 1969. The crew's previous missions in space were also covered, including the famous first U.S. spacewalk by Ed White on Gemini 4 in 1965.
'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' episode list
There is only a single U.K. release date, Dec. 7, for 'Apollo 1: Destination Moon.' No other releases are anticipated for this documentary.
'Apollo 1: Destination Moon' interview subjects
Ahead of 'Apollo 1: Destination Moon', no official list of interview subjects has been provided. collectSPACE, however, has a partial list after speaking with the filmmakers around the March 15, 2025, world premiere of the film at the Boulder International Film Festival.
The filmmakers prioritized hearing from the family members, including Chaffee's wife (Martha) and daughter (Sheryl); Grissom's brother (Lowell); and White's children, Ed White III and Bonnie. Also featured is Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who was Chaffee's backup on the Apollo 1 crew.
