Grissom’s Mission Demonstrated Spaceflight is a Perilous Endeavor

July 14, 2021

Project Mercury: America’s First Step in Space – Part 2

By Bob Granath

In the summer of 1961, NASA was ready to launch its second piloted spaceflight. It was the next step in Project Mercury’s program to study human capabilities during space travel. Two months earlier, Alan Shepard’s textbook sub-orbital mission made it look easy. But, the splashdown and recovery of the encore flight dramatically demonstrated it is a perilous endeavor requiring attention to detail and extensive preflight training.

*NASA astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, at age 35, became America’s second person to fly in space. Photo Credit: NASA*

As Americans traveled on vacations that year, the average cost of a new car was $2,850. The gas tank could be filled for 27 cents per gallon. On the radio were songs such as, “Hit the Road Jack,” by Ray Charles, and sports fans followed Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle’s assault on Babe Ruth’s single season home run record.

Three weeks after Shepard’s successful flight, President John F. Kennedy raised the stakes in the Cold War’s space race with the Soviet Union. He challenged NASA and the nation to “land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth” before the end of the decade of the 1960s.

“It was the happiest moment to date for me,” said Gus Grissom. On July 1, 1961, his Mercury spacecraft was lifted by crane and attached to the Redstone rocket for the Mercury-4 mission. Photo credit: NASA

In the meantime, the agency needed to simply prove the Mercury spacecraft was ready to carry an astronaut into orbit. That job was assigned to Virgil “Gus” Grissom.

A native of Mitchell, Indiana, Grissom enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he was discharged and attended Purdue University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1950. He reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force and flew 100 combat missions aboard the F-86 jet during the Korean Conflict.

Grissom then was reassigned to work as a flight instructor and later earned a bachelor’s degree in aeromechanics from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Grissom was a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California when NASA selected him as one of the agency’s Original Seven Mercury Astronauts in 1959.

Liberty Bell 7

While the Mercury Redstone-4 mission appeared to duplicate Shepard’s flight, there were numerous improvements to the spacecraft Grissom named Liberty Bell 7.

Gus Grissom stands outside of a mock-up of the Mercury capsule on the deck of a ship during emergency water egress training on April 26, 1961. It turned out to be a crucial activity. Photo credit: NASA

A new trapezoidal-shaped window replaced the two 10-inch side portholes on Freedom 7. This gave Mercury astronauts better vision and an improved ability to maneuver.

The manual controls of Liberty Bell 7 incorporated a new rate-stabilization system. This provided easier handling qualities and a redundant means of firing the pitch, yaw and roll maneuvering thrusters.

*Suit specialist Joe Schmidt assists Gus Grissom into his pressure suit for the Mercury Redstone-4 flight. Photo credit: NASA*

Grissom’s spacecraft also had a new hatch release system that would allow the astronaut to get out quickly in an emergency. The original side hatch was secured with 70 bolts and covered with several shingles, making it a slow process to open.

Grissom noted in the 1962 book We Seven written by the Mercury Astronauts that during the months leading up to his flight, training and testing were extensive and crucial.

“I felt that I was well prepared,” he said. “These sessions prepared me very well for the sensations I ran into later on the actual flight.”

*Gus Grissom, left, gets an update on preparations for the flight of Liberty Bell 7 from his backup pilot, John Glenn. Photo credit: NASA*

Grissom spent more than 100 hours in the procedures trainers, computer operated simulators at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia and at the launch site, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The simulator allowed astronauts to practice over and over every conceivable combination of planned and unplanned operations, as well as emergency procedures.

Additionally, he participated in 36 missions on the Air-Lubricated Free-Attitude, or ALFA, trainer at Langley. With this device, astronauts lie on their backs and practice maneuvers.

He also went through 15 different missions on a centrifuge, also known to the astronauts as the “wheel.” This spinning device produces high g forces that astronauts experience during the acceleration of launch.

There also was extensive training in splashdown and recovery procedures at sea.

“The pilot’s confidence comes from all of the training methods,” Grissom said.

‘A Nice Ride‘

*Gus Grissom checking his flight plan during prelaunch activities during the countdown for the Mercury Redstone-4 mission on July 21, 1961. Photo credit: NASA*

Early on the morning of July 21, 1961. Grissom was strapped into his Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft atop an 83-foot-high Redstone launch vehicle.

At 7:20 a.m. ET, the rocket’s single engine roared to life with 78,000 pounds of thrust.

“Roger, this is Liberty Bell 7,” Grissom said at liftoff. “The (elapsed time) clock is operating.”

Serving as capsule communicator, or Cap. Comm., in the Mercury Control Center at the Cape, Shepard responded.

“Roger, this is Liberty Bell 7,” Grissom said at lift off on July 21, 1961. The Redstone rocket is generating 78,000 pounds of thrust propelling America’s second astronaut into space. Photo credit: NASA

“Loud and clear, the trajectory is good,” he said.

“Okey-doke,” said Grissom. “It’s a nice ride up to now.”

Like Shepard, Grissom was amazed at how smooth the Redstone performed at liftoff. He reported he gradually felt more severe vibrations, but it was never enough to impair his view.

“Vision out the window was good at all times during launch,” Grissom said in his post-flight report. “As viewed from the pad, the sky was its normal light blue; but as the altitude increased, the sky became a darker and darker blue until approximately two minutes after liftoff, which corresponds to an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet, the sky rapidly changed to an absolute black.”

At two minutes, 20 seconds after launch, the Redstone engine shut down as planned. The capsule separated from the booster while traveling 5,134 mph.

Grissom then began testing Liberty Bell 7’s attitude controls. He reported that the system seemed sluggish compared to the Mercury procedures trainer. After switching to the new control system, he found improved response.

After the pitch and yaw maneuvers, Grissom made a roll movement so he could see the ground from his window.

‘Can’t Help But Look‘

“It’s such a fascinating view out the window; you just can’t help but look out that way,” Grissom said.

*America’s first person in space, Alan Shepard, monitors the launch of Mercury Redstone 4 in the Mercury Control Center. He served as the capsule communicator, or Cap. Comm. Photo credit: NASA*

“I understand,” responded Shepard, having been there himself.

As the spacecraft coasted to an altitude of 118 miles, it was time to fire the retro rockets to begin coming down.

“OK, they’re fired out right there,” Grissom said five minutes, 25 seconds into the mission.

Immediately after retrofire, Cape Canaveral came into his view. Grissom reported it was quite easy to identify the Banana and Indian Rivers as well as the white beaches all along the coast.

Shepard passed along word that Liberty Bell 7’s trajectory was on target.

The crew of a Marine helicopter from the USS Randolph, seen in the background, tried valiantly to save the 2,835-pound Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft. But, the additional weight of the water caused the chopper’s engine to overheat. The line was cut and the capsule sank. Photo credit: NASA

“Your IP (impact point) is right on, Gus, right on,” he said.

During the 15 minute, 37 second flight, the spacecraft traveled 302 miles from Cape Canaveral.

Recovery helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Randolph took off at launch. The crews followed the contrails, parachute descent and landing. They were waiting about two miles from the splashdown point, three miles from the recovery ship.

“Grissom has told the recovery helicopters that he intends to finish his check list and make sure that everything is secure in the cockpit before he opens the hatch to come out,” said U.S. Air Force Col. John Powers, NASA’s Public Affairs commentator in Mercury Control. “This sounds like typical Gus Grissom. He was not about to do anything until he was sure everything had been done and in a business-like manner.”

All was proceeding as planned.

‘POW!‘

“I was just lying there minding my own business and — POW! The hatch went and I looked up and I saw nothing but blue sky and water starting to come in over the sill,” Grissom said during a post-flight news conference on July 23, 1961. “The only thing I remember is tossing my helmet off and grabbing the instrument panel and pulling myself out.”

After five minutes in the water, Gus Grissom is rescued by the crew of a Marine helicopter. His capsule’s hatch came off prematurely following the Mercury 4 spaceflight on July 21, 1961. Photo credit: NASA

A helicopter crew had already hooked on to Liberty Bell 7 and tried valiantly to lift the 2,835-pound spacecraft out of the Atlantic Ocean. At one point, the landing gear was pulled into the sea. However, the additional weight of the water caused the chopper’s engine to overheat and the crew had no choice but to cut the line and let the capsule sink.

After Grissom jumped out the hatch, he began swimming for his life. After about five minutes, a second helicopter crew rescued the astronaut and took him to the USS Randolph.

In recreating Grissom’s recovery for the 1983 motion picture The Right Stuff, writer-director Philip Kaufman’s screenplay veered far from what really happened for entertainment and comedic purposes.

After being rescued from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and transported to the USS Randolph, Gus Grissom receives a congratulatory telephone call from President John F. Kennedy. But, Grissom’s disappointment of the loss of the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft clearly shows. Photo credit: NASA

Grissom is depicted by actor Fred Ward as panicking when his Mercury 4 capsule splashed down. The movie clearly implies that the astronaut “freaked out” causing his hatch to pop off prematurely.

Read how The Right Stuff movie distorts historical facts.

NASA’s failure investigation determined that the unexpected detonation of the spacecraft hatch’s explosive bolts was due to a mechanical failure, not a result of anything Grissom did. In fact, he later climbed into several of the Mercury capsules being prepared for future missions moving himself and his arms around, proving he could not accidentally bump the switch.

Fellow astronaut Wally Schirra further demonstrated the point when his Mercury 8 mission landed on Oct 3, 1962. He elected to stay aboard the capsule until a crane on the USS Kearsarge picked it up and placed it on the aircraft carrier’s deck. He then hit the handle to cause the hatch pop off.

“I had to hit that handle so hard, I skinned the knuckles on my gloved hand,” Schirra said. “That proved you can’t accidentally bump the handle and cause it to go off.”

Grissom was the astronaut assigned to assist Schirra on the recovery ship.

Gus Grissom describes his experiences aboard Liberty Bell 7 during a news conference on July 23, 1961 at the Starlight Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Florida. To the left is Dr. Robert Gilruth, director of the NASA Space Task Group, and on the right, NASA Administrator James Webb. Photo credit: NASA

“When I took off the glove, I showed Gus my bleeding knuckles,” Schirra said. “Gus grabbed my wrist, took a good look and pointed it at the NASA photographer, saying, ‘Get a picture of this.’”

Dr. Robert Gilruth, director of the NASA Space Task Group, had high praise for Grissom following the Mercury 4 mission.

“The second successful manned suborbital space flight, in which astronaut Virgil Grissom was the pilot, was another step in the progressive research, development, and training program leading to the study of man’s capabilities in a space environment during manned orbital flight,” he said.

“The successful active participation of the pilots, in much the same way as in the development and testing of high performance aircraft,” Gilruth said, “has greatly increased our confidence in giving man a significant role in future space flight activities.”

Recovery of Liberty Bell 7

Underwater salvage expert Curt Newport describes the expedition that located and recovered Liberty Bell 7 on the 38th anniversary of the Mercury Redstone-4 flight. Newport and his team successfully located and recovered the capsule and brought it to Port Canaveral on July 21, 1999. Photo credit: NASA

Curt Newport, a pioneer in the development and operation of remotely operated underwater vehicles, led an expedition to locate and recover Liberty Bell 7 in 1999. He organized the activity with Oceaneering International, Inc., a sub-sea engineering and applied technology company based in Houston. The Discovery Channel financed the effort. The capsule was found on May 1, 1999 in three-mile deep waters southeast of Cape Canaveral. It was lifted onto the deck of the Oceaneering ship on July 20, 1999.

Teams at the Cosmosphere, a space history museum in Hutchinson, Kansas, disassembled and cleaned the spacecraft. Liberty Bell 7 then was sent on a national tour through Sept. 15, 2006. The spacecraft now is on display at the Cosmosphere.

More Assignments for Grissom

Grissom went on to become the first person to fly in space twice. He commanded Gemini III on March 23, 1965 with John Young. Recalling the fate of Liberty Bell 7, they dubbed their capsule, Molly Brown. It was a reference to the book, play and popular 1964 film The Unsinkable Molly Brown based on the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.

Read more about Gemini III

The restored Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft is seen on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Sept. 16, 2000. It now is located the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

As NASA prepared for the program to land the first humans on the Moon, Grissom was selected as commander of Apollo 1 with Ed White and Roger Chaffee. All three were lost when a flash fire engulfed their spacecraft during a countdown simulation on Jan. 27, 1967.

Read more about Apollo 1

Less than a month before the Apollo 1 accident, Grissom completed the first draft manuscript for a book published in 1968 titled Gemini!, about the program that bridged Project Mercury to Apollo. On the last page, he wrote about the perils of human spaceflight.

“There will be risks, as there are in any experimental program,” he said. “But I hope the American people won’t feel it’s too high a price for our space program.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series of feature articles marking the 60th anniversary of Project Mercury. Beginning with test flights in 1959 and culminating in America’s first human orbital space missions, the program proved astronauts could be launched into space, perform useful work and safely return. In February 2022, read about a quintessential American hero and NASA’s first orbital spaceflight.