I was recently reminded of Walter Mondale's role in the Apollo 1 hearings and wanted to dig a bit deeper into the topic. In the miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon," Mondale is the antagonist of the "Apollo 1" episode and uses the tragedy to advance his anti-Apollo agenda. My question is whether this is really an accurate characterization (supported by his official positions and public statements prior to the incident,) and whether Mondale continued in his role as a critic of manned spaceflight after the Apollo 1 hearings. Was Mondale's opposition the first time that a major manned spaceflight program was threatened in Congress?