Gus Grissom

Gus Grissom (1926-1967), American astronaut. Grissom was the second American in space and the first to make two trips. He was killed in a capsule fire during an Apollo mission simulation at Cape Kennedy (now Cape Canaveral), Florida (see Apollo program).

“Gus” Grissom was born in Mitchell, Indiana. He was an Army pilot trainee during World War II and flew combat missions in the Korean War. He became a test pilot with the Air Force and in 1959, was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to be a member of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts (see Mercury program).

On July 21, 1961, Grissom rode the Mercury-Redstone 4 “Liberty Bell 7” capsule on the second sub-orbital flight of the program. The capsule reached a maximum altitude of 203 km (126 mi) before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. After splashdown, the hatch prematurely blew open, allowing water to enter. Grissom, still wearing his heavy spacesuit, dove into the ocean, nearly sinking along with the capsule. Helicopters rescued him, but the water-logged capsule was too heavy and was allowed to sink.

Grissom served as commander on the first flight of the Gemini program (see Gemini program). Along with crew member John Young, they made three orbits in the Gemini 3 capsule, and were the first to maneuver a spacecraft from one orbit to another, instead of merely pointing the craft in another direction. Grissom nicknamed their capsule “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” after a current Broadway musical.

Grissom served as backup for another Gemini mission, then began training to be commander for the first manned Apollo flight. Apollo 1, scheduled for February 1967, was to be a 16-day mission. Grissom and his crewmates, Edward White II and Roger Chaffee, were in a training simulation on January 27, 1967, when a spark set fire to the oxygen-rich, high pressure atmosphere in the capsule. Before the hatch could be opened, flammable materials fueled the blaze and the three astronauts died.

The fire set the Apollo program back nearly two years. In response to the tragedy, NASA redesigned its spacecraft. A less flammable atmosphere under lower pressure, flame-resistant materials, and a quicker escape system were built into all future Apollo missions.