Do You Know the Apollo 1 Joke that Became Unofficial NASA Policy?

After all these years, and my fascination with the Apollo Program, I did not know this fun little fact. As you know, 40 years ago today marks the date of the Apollo 1 tragedy. On this date, Apollo 1 crew members Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee all lost their lives to fire brought about by a series of mistakes that proved fatal.

But out of that tragic loss came a practical joke (I know it seems even today - hinting of ANY kind of 'joke' seems in extremely poor taste, but believe me it isn't) that also became unofficial NASA policy.

Of all the changes to future flights, from nitrogen mix atmosphere on takeoff, to quick egress and less flammable materials in the crafts comes a curious 3 word phrase of two syllable words - from the tech republic article:

• Every Apollo astronaut knew the code phrases Navi, Dnoces, and Regor, which refer to the stars Gamma Cassiopeiae, Iota Ursa Majoris, and Gamma Velorum, respectively. This trio of stars was (and likely is) used for visual reference during spaceflight, and was a core component of Apollo mission training for inertial navigation procedures.

Now this is where the tongue gets firmly planted in cheek for Navi is Ivan spelled backwards, Gus Grissom’s middle name -  Now Dnoces, yes second, and now Regor - Regor is Roger Chaffee’s first name spelled backwards.

From a humble beginning comes a little known NASA Apollo tribute to the three who gave their lives in service to humanity.

Tech Republic article