The NASA Career of Astronaut Gus Grissom

Astronaut Gus Grissom was chosen as one of NASA's first astronauts on April 9, 1959. This collective group of seven astronauts is traditionally known as The Mercury Seven. Among the many feats that these astronauts accomplished include being the first American in space, orbiting the Earth, and space endurance testing.

Gus Grissom had the honor of being the second American in space. His flight was very similar to the flight of his fellow astronaut Alan Shepard and lasted less than 15 minutes.

One of the things Astronaut Gus Grissom will likely always be remembered for is the sinking of his Mercury spacecraft known as Liberty Bell 7. An unfortunate accident happened after the spacecraft landed in the ocean after its return from space. The explosive bolts on the spacecraft's hatch blew unexpectedly. Because the hatch blew before the recovery helicopter had a chance to hook on to the top of Liberty Bell 7 and lift it out of the water, the spacecraft began taking on water.

Astronaut Grissom jumped into the water and waited for the recovery helicopters to hook the spacecraft so they could pull it out of the water before it sank. In the water Grissom tried to help the spacecraft recovery process but even though the pilots were able to hook the spacecraft it had filled so much with water that it was too heavy for the helicopter to lift. The recovery attempt of the spacecraft was forfeited and they released the hook and it eventually sank to the bottom of the ocean floor.

During that process Grissom was still treading water waiting to be rescued. He did not realize that he forgot to shut one of the valves on his spacesuit and it was beginning to take on water making it harder and harder for him to stay afloat. A second recovery helicopter was summoned and Astronaut Grissom was lifted to safety from the water.

Upon his return Astronaut Grissom was blamed for firing the hatch ahead of schedule and for the loss of the Spacecraft. Grissom vehemently denied that this was the case and later evidence would support his case although it never definitively proved it. Due to the controversy surrounding this mission, much of the fanfare that was seen after the first Mercury Mission by Alan Shepard was cancelled.

Liberty Bell 7 was successfully pulled from the depths of the ocean on July 20, 1999 by Oceaneering International, Inc. The recovery expedition was funded by the Discovery Channel who documented the event. The spacecraft was found to be in good condition and was taken apart and cleaned of the corrosive saltwater that had surrounded it for so many years. It is currently on display at the Cosmophere in Kansas. The hatch still remains on the ocean floor to this day.

Other events during Grissom's time with NASA have overshadowed his contributions to the Gemini program. Gus Grissom who was the command pilot for the Gemini 3 mission, the first manned mission of the Gemini program, became the first man to fly into space twice. The honor was scheduled to belong to Astronaut Alan Shepard but he was diagnosed with Ménière's disease which affects the inner ear and NASA was forced to ground him.

Astronaut Gus Grissom also worked with engineers on the design of the Gemini spacecraft. It was later determined that this version of the spacecraft would have to be revised to accommodate the other astronauts who for the most part were all taller than Grissom.

On a humorous note, Grissom's first Gemini space craft is named the Molly Brown which is a joke on the Unsinkable Molly Brown and the sinking of Liberty Bell 7. If you look at the Gemini 3 mission patch you will see the name emblazoned at the bottom.

In one of NASA's greatest tragedies, Gus Grissom, along with Ed White and Rodger Chaffee were killed during a routine test for their Apollo 1 mission. They were sitting inside of the spacecraft in a 100 per cent pure oxygen environment conducting routine tests when a fire broke out and spread so quickly they were unable to get out of the spacecraft in time and all three perished inside on January 27, 1967. Many aspects relating to poor design were linked to the early Apollo spacecraft but after the accident NASA rethought design flaws and made great improvements by the time the next Apollo mission launched.

"If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."-Gus Grissom

Sources:

Various Authors, "Mercury-Redstone 4," Wikipedia