Portal:Spaceflight/Selected biography/July 2008

Virgil Ivan Grissom, more widely known as Gus Grissom, (3 April 1926 – 27 January 1967) was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot. He was the second American to fly in space. Grissom was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee during a training exercise and pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and, posthumously, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Grissom was born in Mitchell, Indiana. He graduated from Mitchell High School and in 1950 earned a bachelor of science degree, then enlisted in the United States Air Force. He married Betty Moore Grissom and they had two children, Scott and Mark. Grissom received his pilot wings in March 1951. His first assignment was in Korea as an F-86 Sabre replacement pilot. In 1959 Grissom underwent a series of physical and psychological tests and was then chosen as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts.

Grissom was pilot of Mercury-Redstone 4, popularly known as Liberty Bell 7, the second American (suborbital) spaceflight. After splashdown explosive bolts blew the hatch off unexpectedly and water flooded into the tiny capsule. Grissom exited through the open hatch and into the ocean but nearly drowned as water filled his flightsuit. In early 1964 Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first manned Gemini flight.

Grissom was assigned as commander of AS-204, which was meant to be the first manned Apollo flight. He was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee when the Apollo 1 command module caught fire and burned on the launchpad during a training exercise and pre-launch test at Cape Kennedy on 27 January 1967. (more...)