Gus_Grissom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gus Grissom Gus Grissom Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom graduated from Mitchell High School in 1944. He married Betty Moore Grissom on July 6, 1945. They would have two children, Scott and Mark. Grissom was a master Mason and member of Mitchell Lodge 228. NASA Astronaut Status Born Died Other occupation Rank Time in space Selection Missions Mission insignia Killed during a training exercise and test in Florida April 3, 1926(1926-04-03) Mitchell, Indiana January 27, 1967 (aged 40) Cape Canaveral, Florida Test pilot Lieutenant Colonel, USAF 5h 7m 1959 NASA Group Mercury-Redstone 4, Gemini 3, Apollo 1 Military career World War II Grissom enlisted in the Army Air Forces following his graduation from high school in 1944.[1] He was sent to Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training after which he was assigned as a clerk at Brooks Field in San Antonio, Texas. Grissom took advantage of the G.I. Bill, enrolling at Purdue University upon his November 1945 discharge from the Air Corps at war’s end.[1] In 1950 he earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue Universtity. Korean War Grissom re-enlisted in the Air Force after his graduation from Purdue. He was accepted into the air cadet basic training program at Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas. Upon completion of the program, he was assigned to Williams Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] Virgil Ivan Grissom, more widely known as Gus Grissom, (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 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 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. Background Grissom was born in Mitchell, Indiana. As a child he attended the local Church of Christ and became a lifelong member. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 46. Grissom USAF F-86-01 similar to the aircraft Grissom flew in Korea. In March 1951 Grissom received his pilot wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant. Nine months later, Grissom received orders for Korea. There he would serve as an 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia F-86 Sabre replacement pilot with the 334th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing at Kimpo Air Base. Grissom flew 100 combat missions during the Korean conflict with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.[1] After returning from Korea he served as an instructor pilot at Bryan AFB in Bryan, Texas.[2] In August 1955 Grissom entered the Air Force Institute of Technology at WrightPatterson Air Force Base, Ohio to study aeronautical engineering.[2] In October 1956 he entered the test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base, California and returned to Wright-Patterson in May 1957 as a test pilot assigned to the fighter branch.[2][3] Gus Grissom In 1961, 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 while a helicopter tried to lift and recover the spacecraft. However, the capsule had become too heavy with water and sank. Grissom strongly asserted he had done nothing to blow the hatch and NASA officials eventually agreed with him. Initiating the explosive egress system required hitting a metal trigger with the side of a closed fist. This was later shown to leave a big bruise but Grissom did not have one. The capsule was recovered in 1999 but no evidence was found which could explain how the hatch opened on its own. Years after, Guenter Wendt (who was pad leader for the early American manned space launches) wrote he believed a small cover over the external release actuator was accidentally lost sometime during the flight or splashdown and the T-handle may have been tugged by a stray parachute shroud line, or was perhaps damaged by the heat of re-entry, cooled upon splashdown, contracted and then fired.[4][5] Grissom was flooded by reporters in a news conference after his space flight in America’s second manned ship. "Well, I was scared a good portion of the time; I guess that’s a pretty good indication." -Grissom.[6] Astronaut The Project Mercury astronauts with a model of an Atlas rocket, July 12, 1962. Grissom is at the far left. As an Air Force captain in 1959 Grissom underwent a series of physical and psychological tests and was then chosen as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts.[4] Gemini 3 In early 1964 Alan Shepard was grounded after being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease and Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight. This mission would make him the first astronaut to fly twice beyond the accepted boundary of space. Grissom was one of the smaller-sized astronauts and he worked very closely with the engineers and technicians from McDonnell Aircraft who built the Gemini capsule. The first three spacecraft were built around him and the design was humorously named the Gusmobile. However by July 1963 NASA discovered 14 out of the 16 astronauts could not fit themselves into the cabin and later cockpits were modified.[7] During this time Grissom innovated a multiaxis joystick for controlling the maneuvering thrusters with one hand. Liberty Bell 7 Grissom in front of the Liberty Bell 7 capsule. 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gus Grissom Naming of the Molly Brown Death Apollo 1 crew, Grissom, White and Chaffee Gemini 3 mission patch design. In a joking nod to the sinking of his Mercury craft Grissom named the first Gemini capsule the Molly Brown after the popular Broadway show The Unsinkable Molly Brown but NASA publicity officials were unhappy with this name. When Grissom and his pilot John Young were ordered to come up with a new one they offered The Titanic. Aghast, NASA executives gave in and allowed the name Molly Brown but didn’t use it in any official references. Subsequently and much to the agency’s chagrin, on launch CAPCOM Gordon Cooper gave Gemini 3 its sendoff by saying over the uplink, "You’re on your way, Molly Brown!" and ground controllers used this name throughout the flight. After the safe return of Gemini 3 NASA announced new spacecraft would not be named. Hence Gemini IV was not named American Eagle as planned. The naming of spacecraft resumed in 1967 after managers found the Apollo flights needed a name for each of two flight elements, the command module and lunar module. Lobbying by the astronauts and senior NASA administrators also had an effect. Apollo 9 had the callsigns Gumdrop for the command module and Spider for the lunar module. However, Wally Schirra had been prevented from naming his Apollo 7 spacecraft the Phoenix in honor of Grissom’s Apollo 1 crew since it was believed the average taxpayer would not take a "fire" metaphor as intended. Apollo I mission patch design Grissom was backup command pilot for Gemini 6A when he shifted to the Apollo program and 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 January 27, 1967. The fire’s ignition source was never determined but their deaths were attributed to a wide range of lethal design hazards in the early Apollo command module such as its highly pressurized 100% oxygen atmosphere during the test, many wiring and plumbing flaws, flammable materials in the cockpit, a hatch 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia which might not open at all in an emergency and even the flight suits worn by the astronauts.[8] These along with other flaws and design problems were fixed and the Apollo program carried on successfully. Grissom was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his death, and he had logged a total of 4,600 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jet airplanes. In his 1994 autobiography Deke!, the chief astronaut Deke Slayton said he wanted one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts to be the first on the moon and, "Had Gus been alive, as a Mercury astronaut he would have taken the step." Slayton also wrote, "My first choice would have been Gus, which both Chris Kraft and Bob Gilruth seconded." Gus Grissom is buried in Section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery, near Roger Chaffee. Ed White is buried at the West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York. Gus Grissom bankruptcy and was taken over by a NASA contractor, whereupon the family asked for everything back.[9] All the artifacts were returned to them except the spacesuit, which NASA claimed was government property.[10] NASA insisted Grissom got authorization to use the spacesuit for a show and tell at his son’s school and never returned it but some Grissom family members claimed the astronaut rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.[11] Awards and honors • Distinguished Flying Cross for service in Korea • Air Medal with cluster for service in Korea • Two NASA Distinguished Service Medals • NASA Exceptional Service Medal • Air Force Command Pilot rating with astronaut qualifier • Honorary Doctorate, Florida Institute of Technology • Congressional Space Medal of Honor, 1978 (posthumous) • Honorary Mayor of Newport News, Virginia (posthumous) • Enshrined at the "Wall Of Honor" at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Smithsonian) at Washington Dulles International Airport Spacesuit controversy Memorials Grissom’s MR-4 spacesuit on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame When the Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 his family loaned it the spacesuit worn by Grissom during Mercury 4 along with other personal artifacts belonging to the astronaut. In 2002 the museum went into One of two Apollo 1 memorial plaques at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34. • Navi (Ivan backwards), a star also named Epsilon Cassiopeiae: Grissom and one of his flight crews had used the star to calibrate their equipment, wrote the name in logs as a joke and it eventually stuck.[12] 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Grissom Hill is 7.5 km (4.7 mi) southwest of Columbia Memorial Station on Mars and is one of the Apollo 1 Hills. • A landmark on the moon is called Marina Grissom. • Grissom’s boyhood home on Grissom Avenue in Mitchell, Indiana was being restored into a small museum, but ran out of funds. A limestone carving of the Titan II rocket which launched the Gemini flight is in downtown Mitchell. (Indiana is known for its limestone.) There is also a memorial in Spring Mill State Park. Grissom attended Mitchell High School and its auditorium is named for him. • Virgil I. Grissom Library, Denbigh section of Newport News, Virginia. • Virgil "Gus" Grissom Park, Fullerton, California. (Fullerton also has parks named for White and Chaffee).[13] • The Gus Grissom Stakes, thoroughbred horse race run each fall at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana. • Grissom Island, artificial island, Long Beach Harbor off Southern California. Gus Grissom • Virgil I. Grissom High School, Huntsville, Alabama.[16] (Huntsville also has schools named for Roger Chaffee, Ed White, and the Challenger shuttle: the Roger B. Chaffee Elementary School, the Ed White Middle School, and the Challenger Middle School) • Virgil I. Grissom Middle School, Mishawaka, Indiana. • Virgil I. Grissom Middle School, Tinley Park, Illinois. • Virgil I. Grissom Middle School, Sterling Heights, Michigan. • Virgil I. Grissom Middle School 226, South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City, New York. • Virgil I. Grissom Elementary School, Houston.[17] • Virgil Grissom Elementary School, Old Bridge, New Jersey.[18] • Virgil I. Grissom Elementary School, Hegewisch, Illinois. • Virgil Grissom Elementary School, Princeton, Iowa. • Grissom Elementary School, Tulsa, Oklahoma. • Virgil I. Grissom School No. 7, Rochester, New York. • V.I. Grissom Elementary School, formerly at Clark Air Base, Philippines (Base and school are now closed). • Grissom Elementary School, Muncie, Indiana. Military • Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana was renamed on May 12, 1968 to Grissom Air Force Base. In 1994 it was again renamed to Grissom Air Reserve Base following the USAF’s realignment program.[14] • Grissom Dining Facility, Misawa Air Base, Japan. • Grissom was the "Class Exemplar" of the United States Air Force Academy class of 2007. • Grissom Hall at Purdue University was the home of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics for several decades and is still in use as an engineering building today. • Grissom Hall at the former Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, IL, where Minuteman missile maintenance training was covered. Film and television Grissom has been noted and remembered in many film and television productions. Before he became widely known as an astronaut, the film Air Cadet (1951) starring Richard Long and Rock Hudson briefly featured Grissom early in the movie as a U.S. Air Force candidate for flight school at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas. Grissom was depicted by Fred Ward in the film The Right Stuff (1983) and (very briefly) in the film Apollo 13 (1995) by Steve Bernie. He was portrayed in the TV mini-series From the Earth to the Moon (1998) by Mark Rolston. Actor Kevin McCorkle played Grissom in the third season finale of the NBC television show American Dreams. Bryan Cranston played Grissom as a nervous variety-show guest in the film That Thing You Do! In the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock the Federation starship sent to survey the newly formed Genesis Schools • Grissom Hall, an engineering building at Purdue University, his alma mater.[15] • Grissom Hall, Florida Institute of Technology. • Grissom Hall, State University of New York at Fredonia. 5 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Planet is named USS Grissom. The character Gus Griswald in the popular children’s TV show Recess is named after Grissom (his fictional father is a General in the US Army and Gus is his recruit). The character Gil Grissom in the CBS television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation[19] and the character Virgil Tracy in the British television series Thunderbirds are named after the astronaut. NASA footage including Grissom’s Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions was released in high definition on the Discovery Channel in June 2008 in the television series When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions.[4] Gus Grissom Society. http://www.indianahistory.org/ pop_hist/people/grissom.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. [2] ^ "Astronaut Biographies: Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom". U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. http://www.astronautscholarship.org/ grissom.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. [3] "Astronaut Bio: Virgil I. Grissom". Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ grissom-vi.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-11. [4] ^ Discovery Channel, When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, "Ordinary Supermen," airdate 8 June 2008 (season 1) [5] Banke, Jim, Gus Grissom didn’t sink the A family-approved account of Grissom’s life Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule, appears in the 2003 book Fallen Astronauts space.com, 17 June 2000, retrieved 26 by Colin Burgess and Kate Doolan. Ray E. December 2008 Boomhower wrote a biography of Grissom [6] UPI.com, Year in Review. titled Gus Grissom: The Lost Astronaut in http://www.upi.com/Audio/ 2004, published by the Indiana Historical SoYear_in_Review/Events-of-1961/ ciety Press. Betty Grissom wrote a memoir 12295509433760-1/#title titled Starfall in 1974. [7] Hacker, Barton C.; James M. Grimwood Grissom died while putting the finishing (1977). On the Shoulders of Titans: A touches on Gemini!, his account of the History of Project Gemini. NASA History Gemini Program, in which he was heavily inSeries #4203. NASA Special volved. The final chapter is dated January Publications. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/ 1967, mere days before Grissom’s death on office/pao/History/SP-4203/ch10-2.htm. the Apollo launch pad. According to editor JaRetrieved on 2008-01-23. cob Hay, the book’s final form was "reached [8] "Findings, Determinations And with the approval of Mrs. Betty Grissom." Recommendations". Report of Apollo 204 Review Board. NASA. 1967-04-05. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/ History/Apollo204/find.html. "No single ignition source of the fire was “ If we die, we want people to ” conclusively identified." accept it. We are in a risky [9] Kelly, John (2002-11-20). "Gus Grissom’s business and we hope that if Family, NASA Fight Over Spacesuit". anything happens to us it will Florida Today. http://www.space.com/ not delay the program. The news/grissom_spacesuit_021120.html. conquest of space is worth the Retrieved on 2007-05-27. risk of life. [10] "Luckless Gus Grissom in the hot seat - after again". RoadsideAmerica.com. the 2002-11-24. Gemini http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tnews/ 3 NewsItemDisplay.php?Tip_AttrId==7014. mission, Retrieved on 2007-05-04. March [11] Lee, Christopher (2005-08-24). "Grissom 1965 Spacesuit in Tug of War". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/23/ AR2005082301204_pf.html. Retrieved on [1] ^ "Indiana’s Popular History: Virgil 2007-05-27. "Gus" Grissom". Indiana Historical Books Quote References 6 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gus Grissom [12] Rao, Joe (2003-08-29). "NightSky Friday: Schools. Rotanev, Derf, Navi, and other Backward http://www.oldbridgeschools.org/ Star Names". Space.com. grissom/. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ [19] Zaslow, Jeffrey (2002-01-20). "A real star_names_030829.html. Retrieved on reality show; William Petersen, star of 2008-01-23. CBS’ surprise hit series CSI seeks [13] "Parks & Recreation: List of parks". City ultimate truths in some unseemly of Fullerton. places". USA Weekend. http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/ http://www.usaweekend.com/02_issues/ parks_n_recreation/find_a_park/ 020120/020120petersen.html. Retrieved list_of_parks.asp. Retrieved on on 2008-01-23. 2008-06-11. [14] "Questions About Grissom". Grissom Air Reserve Base, USAF. • Gus Grissom - I Knew Him http://www.grissom.afrc.af.mil/ • Indiana Historical Society tribute to Gus questions/. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. Grissom [15] Sequin, Cynthia (2005-10-14). "Purdue • Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew industrial engineering kicks off Grissom Gus Grissom - NASA renovation, celebrates gifts". Purdue • NASA biography University News. • Grissom page at Astronaut Memorial http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/ Foundation html3month/2005/ • Spacefacts biography 051014.Celebrate.iegifts.html. Retrieved • Roadside America review of Grissom on 2008-01-23. Museum [16] "Grissom High School". WikiMapia. • Virgil Ivan Grissom Photographs of grave http://www.wikimapia.org/ site, Arlington National Cemetery along #y=34661558&x=-86536501&z=17&l=0&m=h. with other photographs and a brief Retrieved on 2008-01-23. biography. [17] http://es.houstonisd.org/grissomes/ • Gus Grissom at Find A Grave Retrieved on MISSION%20CONTROL.htm 2009-5-20 [18] "Welcome to Virgil Grissom Elementary School". Old Bridge Township Public External links Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Grissom" Categories: Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipients, 1961 in space exploration, 1965 in space exploration, Purdue University alumni, Air Force Institute of Technology alumni, United States Air Force officers, American astronauts, Recipients of US Distinguished Flying Cross, United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees, Space program fatalities, Deaths by smoke inhalation, Burials at Arlington National Cemetery, American members of the Churches of Christ, Accidental human deaths in Florida, People from Lawrence County, Indiana, People from Indiana in WWII, 1926 births, 1967 deaths This page was last modified on 21 May 2009, at 02:20 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 7