Gus Grissom

Virgil “Gus” Grissom was an American astronaut and one of NASA’s original Mercury Seven. He flew on the Mercury and Gemini programs and commanded Apollo 1.

Liberty Bell 7: The Mercury spacecraft flown by Gus Grissom on a suborbital spaceflight in 1961. Grissom’s first flight ended with the capsule sinking after its hatch opened at sea.
John Young: An American astronaut who flew six space missions and walked on the Moon during Apollo 16. Young flew with Grissom on Gemini 3.
Mercury-Redstone 4: The 1961 mission that carried Grissom and his Mercury capsule on a suborbital flight. Its launch vehicle sent Grissom’s capsule on a brief ballistic trajectory.
Apollo 1 mission patch: The insignia designed by the Apollo 1 crew to commemorate their planned first crewed Apollo flight. The patch became a memorial to Grissom and his crewmates after their deaths.
Mercury Seven: The seven military test pilots selected by NASA in 1959 as its first astronaut group. Grissom was one of these original astronauts.
Gemini 3: The first crewed Gemini mission, flown by Gus Grissom and John Young in 1965. Grissom commanded this mission, NASA’s first crewed flight after Project Mercury.
Edward H. White II: An American astronaut who became the first U.S. spacewalker during Gemini 4. White was Grissom’s fellow Apollo 1 crew member.
Mercury capsule: A one-person spacecraft designed for NASA’s Project Mercury missions. Grissom flew in this compact capsule on Liberty Bell 7.
NASA astronaut corps: The group of astronauts selected and trained by NASA for human spaceflight missions. Grissom helped establish the corps through its earliest crewed programs.
United States Air Force: The U.S. military service responsible for air and space operations. Grissom served as an Air Force pilot before and during his astronaut career.

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