Gus Grissom

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American test pilot and astronaut. He was one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959.

On July 21, 1961, Grissom flew into space in the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft. This was powered by a Redstone rocket. Grissom was the second American in space, following Alan Shepard.

He made another space flight as command pilot (pilot in charge) of Gemini 3. This was the first trip by astronauts in NASA's Project Gemini. The trip took place on March 23, 1965.

Grissom died along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (then known as Cape Kennedy), Florida. He was the first of the Mercury Seven to die.

References

Further reading

Other websites

NASA Biography
Spacefacts biography of Gus Grissom
NYTimes article

Category:1926 births
Category:1967 deaths
Category:Accidental deaths in the United States
Category:American astronauts
Category:People from Indiana