Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
| Gus Grissom | |
|---|---|
_Grissom_portrait.jpg) |
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| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | United States |
| Born | Virgil Ivan Grissom April 3, 1926 Mitchell, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 1967 (aged 40) Cape Kennedy, Florida, U.S. |
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Other occupation
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Test pilot |
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Purdue University, B.S. 1950 Air Force Institute of Technology, B.S. 1956 |
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| Rank | Lieutenant colonel, USAF |
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Time in space
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5h 7m |
| Selection | 1959 NASA Group 1 |
| Missions | Mercury-Redstone 4, Gemini 3, Apollo 1 |
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Mission insignia
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| Awards |
Distinguished Flying Cross Congressional Space Medal of Honor NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967), was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts, a United States Air Force test pilot, and a mechanical engineer. He was the second American to fly in space, and the first member of the NASA Astronaut Corps to fly in space twice.
Grissom enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet during World War II. As the end of the war neared, Grissom sought to be discharged and married Betty Moore. Grissom enrolled at Purdue University, graduating with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering in 1950. He reenlisted in the United States Air Force, earning his pilot's wings in 1951. He flew over 100 combat missions, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster. He was reassigned to work as a flight instructor at Bryan Air Force Base. He attended the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology for a year and earned a bachelor's degree in aeromechanics.
Selected as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts, Grissom was the pilot of the second American suborbital flight, in the Liberty Bell 7. The hatch of the craft blew off and filled with water, causing it to sink to the bottom of the ocean. His next flight was in the Project Gemini Program in a craft named the Molly Brown, which was a successful mission. He was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch 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. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and, posthumously, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
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