Carol Mersch

The Apostles of Apollo Carol Mersch

When NASA scientist and Chaplain John Stout accepted a position in the Apollo program at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, he said he would stay for one year - no more.

All that changed on January 27, 1967, when Apollo 1 astronaut Ed White II died with his crewmates in a flash fire on the launch pad. Reverend Stout, a chaplain to many of the astronauts, had grown close to White and knew the young astronaut planned to carry a Bible to the moon.

Stout vowed to stay on and see White's dream fulfilled. But undertaking a religious endeavor in the midst of a government-sponsored space program posed a dilemma for Stout and many of the astronauts.

Among Stout's obstacles was a lawsuit launched by renowned atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair against NASA to prevent religious acts in space. It fell to Stout and his Apollo Prayer League to find a way.

The result was an extraordinary drama that unfolded behind the scenes as America rushed headlong to the moon.