Gus Grissom is a hero in every sense of the word. He worked hand-in-hand through the development of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, and gave his life for the business and endeavor that he loved. In a press interview before the tragic accident, Gus had this to say: "The conquest of space is worth the risk of life. Our God-given curiosity will force us to go there ourselves; because, in the final analysis, only man can truly examine the moon in ways understandable to other men"

The movie The Right Stuff did him dirty, a dead man who couldn't defend himself. If he was a "squirming hatch blower" on this flight NASA would not have put him in command of Apollo 1.

Gus got a bad rap. He's an amazing pilot and American hero.

Many folks thought Gus did something wrong and the result was that door blew off. You gotta remember the systems in that day were all brand new and glitchy as hell. Old Gus did all right!

Gus was a great Astronaut and engineer. His missions serve as foundations to the success of all space flights.

100 combat missions in Korea, test pilot at Edwards and Astronaut extraordinaire.

At first I thought, "An entire space mission in a 22-minute video?" Then I remembered that Gus and Al's Mercury flights were nice and concise.

I'm so happy that they were able to recover Liberty Bell 7 from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean back in 1999. I was fortunate to download the entire documentary about the recovery off of KZfaq back in 2020 before it was removed in its entirety. We will always remember the brave men and women who've given their lives for the Exploration of Outer Space. GOD Bless Them All!!!!!

I have the book, WE SEVEN (published in 1962 by Simon & Schuster), in which each of the Mercury astronauts write briefly about their early careers, their feelings about the missions to space, etc. Grissom recounted his early experience as a young Air Force pilot, his degree in engineering at Purdue, and his coolness under fire as he fought against Soviet MIGS in Korea. He indicates that he wasn't seeking glory, but just the chance to help out in the development of the Space Program. Obviously, he was selected as one of the SEVEN out of hundreds of candidates! I'm convinced, he did it right!

That capsule is very small. Those astronauts had to have guts to not only get in one but go into orbit.They truly had the right stuff. 👍🇺🇸👏Gus R.I.P a true hero.

After his Mercury flight, Wally Shirra intentionally blew his hatch on the boat, and had the distinct burn marks associated with hatch emergency jettison. Gus Grissom had none. Shirra proved once and for all his friend was correct. Grissom did not “accidentally” blow his hatch.

Best voice of all the astronauts.

Watched the coverage of this when it happened. It was amazing then and it is still amazing to me now. Grissom was a great pilot and a brave man. As were they all.

I don't think I've ever actually heard Gus Grissom's voice before. It's so strange to think you're hearing and watching someone who died 30 years before you were born. These guys helped make science fiction every-day life.

The irony of this flight is that it had a hand in the eventual death of Gus Grissom in Apollo 1. They did away with explosive bolt hatches and came up with something that could not be opened quickly. It was also a "plug type hatch" which means higher inside PSI equals better seal. The fire made the pressure so high that it could not be opened.

It's such a tragedy that Gus never got to see Liberty Bell 7 again.

Hearing him during re-entry really drives home just how hard on the body those high G-forces can be. For a few seconds he weighed 1500 lbs!

Cool.calm.collected.The right stuff

May God Bless Gus, Ed and Roger.

WOW! How amazing to hear the entire flight. If you ever watched the movie "The Right Stuff" , Grissom was portrayed as a cowboy who botched the mission by blowing the hatch. Gus was the consummate test pilot. There could have been nothing further from the truth concerning his actions. He notified MC that he could not get one of the safety pins inserted. Helicopters generate tremendous static electricity as the blades stir through the air column. There is no doubt enough electricity shot through the winch cable upon hookup, surged through the ungrounded/unsafe circuit and blew the hatch squibs. He instructed the recovery crew to hold off until he could complete the checklist and note each item. There is no way he blew the hatch. Unfortunately, this experience led to his doom along with Ed White and Roger Chaffee, as the door on the Apollo CM could not be blown. Such a shame! Gus Grissom's footprints should be on the Moon.

I love the joke by Alan Shepard to Gus at liftoff, "loud and clear Jose, don't cry too much", which was in reference to the character Jose Jimenez created by the comedian Bill Dana who was officially made an honorary Mercury astronaut.

'Gus' Grissom was a helluva pilot and astronaut. In the movie, "The Right Stuff', he was portrayed as being somewhat crude but, in fact, he was the type of person that leads in tough situations. If he had a problem... it was his wife who saw him as an avenue to fame and fortune. In memory of Liberty Bell 7 and Apollo 1 - Gus Grissom.

Had the horrible tragedy with Apollo 1 not occurred. Gus Grissom would have probably been the first man on the moon (Along with Ed White).

It's amazing how he talks it's like he's just driving a bus there's no doubt my mind that has it was a malfunction Mr Grissom was too cool to let that happen

just found your recreations during a binge on space exploration videos... they are brilliant! the animations really give you the impression of watching the action in real time. it brings to life the reality and bravery of what these people were trying to do, not to mention the sheer terror! yet they are conversing as though they're calling a baseball game. unreal. anyone even remotely curious about space should see these!

The consensus seems to be that a static discharge occurred when the helicopter latched onto the spacecraft, thus sending an electrical charge into the ground circuit. Careful analysis of the motion picture footage revealed that the hatch blew at the moment the 'claw' touched the grab bar at the top of the spacecraft. Gus never blew the hatch.

10:58 JESUS CHRIST 6 to 9g in two fucking seconds!!! He was struggling as hell at 10g!!

Thank You for posting these full mission vids!!!! As a space junkie I love them. Keep 'em coming!!!!

Been watching your posts for some time now. Thank you for the great effort you have made! So fascinating!

Walked into the Cosmosphere and had no idea this piece of history was there. I was awestruck. Worth the trip to see it.

I saw the Liberty Bell 7 capsule when it was on tour. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been to get inside that capsule. There was so little room. I remember there was something mentioned about how the seats had to be custom formed for each astronaut.

Wow. The balls of those guys. Hats off to you sirs!

RIP and long live Virgil “Gus” Grissom (April 3, 1926 - January 27, 1967), aged 40 You will always be remembered as a legend.

Jim Lovell has said many times that the Apollo 1 fire not occurred when it did that they don’t think they would have survived reentry and safely landed during the Apollo 13 mission

Excellent to be able to view and listen to this.

Tom Wolfe made him to appear undisciplined, so the movie portrayal does not fit the man that piloted the first Gemini mission, who was picked to pilot the first Apollo mission in which he lost his life. In all probability he probably would have been in another Apollo flight to the moon, possibly the first man to step foot on the moon. Gus was one hell of a pilot.

Excellent video.

Gus was the founder of my school Virgil Grissom Elementary School

So Astronomy magazine just came out with a theory that there was an electrical arc that caused the hatch to blow, I am no electrical expert but it sounds plausible.

Don’t judge figures of history by the movies they are portrayed in. Grissom had the right stuff and NASA had to blame someone. He wouldn’t of been the commander of Apollo 1 if he were anything but a hero!

Wow. He really struggled for a bit with those high G's during re-enty.

Wow. Those early mercury astronauts were made of steel. If anyone deserved the right to fly up in a penis shaped rocket a la Blue Origin / Bezos, it was Grissom. Right up into the unknown, and lived to tell about it and inform future engineers and astronauts. Part of advancing space flight is figuring out what doesn't work, not just figuring out what does work.

5:26 I swear in "The Right Stuff" Grissom got pissed when the spacecraft was called a "capsule" lol.

Interesting hearing Shephard and then Gus. Friendly, upbeat, relaxed versus a little grumpy and nervous.

How many people tried using the "Space" bar to execute the parachute?

I'm glad we finally got the spacecraft back. A fitting memorial.

The Rise, fall, and redemption of Liberty Bell 7

I. Remember. I was ten and still love space exploration! Go Spacex!

My mom woke me up to watch this launch with Gus aboard being a constant springmill camper it was like our next door niebor took off was 5 years old remember it like it was yesterday big reason i joind the airforce

It seems Gus had the right stuff but ground control sure didn't. He kept feeding the the info even when they did not respond. He said he dumped the fuel 3 times and they did not respond. I did not hear him panic at all which was shown in the movie. Gus said could not replace the door pins on one of the explosive bolts which keeps them from going off. Ejection seats have similar pins that keep the seat from being accidentally ejected. They are usually removed for flight.

A shame they couldn't find the hatch when they finally brought LB7 up, but I've never thought Gus fired the charge, either on purpose too early or accidentally. Always felt it was a flaw in the capsule itself.

You're on your way Jose

Virgil Ivan Grissom, the second American astronaut ,wore a silver space suit for his first excursion into space..

The news media always gathered outside in the front yards of each of the astronauts homes to talk to the wives before and after each mission. Have you ever seen any videos of any of those front yard interviews?

I remember watching these on tv as a pre schooler. Back when space travel was just a shade safer than Russian roulette.

At about 15:24 he says he cannot get one of the door pins in. I am assuming that this was a reference to the pin to prevent the explosive bolts from going off. Anyone know why the pins were pulled out initially?

This simulation seems to show MR4 landing west of the Florida peninsula... which is impossible. All launches from the Cape are eastward... (yeah, yeah, I'm a fucking geek)

Gee, wonder why they left the capsule in the ocean all those years...

Grissom In 1967 died at appolo 1 training....

Love this. Thank you!

does anyone remember the > ? ? ?

Audio is out of sequence in the final splashdown/sinking

Awesome video!!! Thanks!

Estes re-released the 1:35 scale model of this space vehicle.

Let's play the "Roger" drinking game. One shot of tequila per every "Roger".

I heard a rumor that had he lived, Gus would have been the "first man" instead of Neil Armstrong. Don't know if it's true.

I don't understand the big deal about losing the capsule. Pilots are always taught that they are more important than the machine.

Who the hell...is this Roger guy they keep speaking to?

He had trouble getting a door pin in, and a slight rip in his Shute…I wonder if that had anything to do with the premature door opening….

You guys are Incredible!

The second American astronaut, Grissom wore a silvery space uniform.

Wish they would hurrry the freak up and get Kerbal Space program out for the PS4. Announced it last summer.

Okey-dokey!!

He died later in the Apollo 1 mission😞.

Since some of this was CBS footage, assuming you have the full CBS broadcast of the flight, hopefully you can post it. I have seen a short CBS clip of the launch, but I'd like to see (if you have it) more of that network's broadcast of Liberty Bell m7, including Walter Cronkite's reaction to the spacecraft sinking.

Once again this link demonstrated that the 2021 modus operandi remains the same as in 1961.

Gus was one of the greatest. He didn’t do anything wrong.

15:11 never knew gus grissom was a cod player

I understand the need to test the retro pack, but why bother firing them retrograde? Doing so would just increase the angle of re-entry and firing them prograde would decrease re-entry loads and still test the retro rockets.

Sure sounds like a guy who would panic, huh?

LunarModule5 I assume there is no onboard footage I heard the onboard film was ruined when they recovered Liberty Bell 7, I see you have the onboard film for Freedom 7 (Alan Shepard)

Hi there! I can't find the mission transcript other than the published report, have you found them? If so, please let me know. I would like to read them as sometimes I can't make out what they're saying.

Poor guy lived and died by the hatch

What's the source for Grissom's audio during the reentry LOS blackout? Fascinating!

God speed jose

This must have been recorded in the spacecraft, but it sank. Did Grissom take the recording with him?

I would have been worried about getting eaten by a shark.

Are you using the Direct X 9 addon for Orbiter here?

what caused the hatch to blow off prematurely?

AFB in Indiana

The simulation video looks like he's tracking west to the Gulf. Not true.

Jag Tittas Min Hemmas Finland Salo Olikkalankatu 2A12 , 24100. Klo 8:20.

GOOD Gais

All those years wrongfully acused.... Who knows if he was even acused for Apollo 1.?

10:45

what caused the hatch to blow off preematurely

Did they ever determine why the explosive bolts went off early?

Glaube Mut Liebe .

Always reminded me of Pee Wee Herman.

whats liberty bell 7