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Vatican Observatory director celebrates astronaut Roger B. Chaffee's birthday

Roger B. Chaffee
Wikimedia Commons

Today we celebrate the birthday of Grand Rapids native son and  NASA astronaut Roger B. Chaffee. This year also marks the 50 year anniversary of his death. Chaffee was killed January 27, 1967 , along with Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White, when a fire broke out during a launch pad test of the Apollo 1 command module.  We talk with Brother Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy about the legacy of Chaffee and the place where science and religion meet.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.