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Mercury-Redstone 4 Splashdown & Loss of Liberty Bell 7 Capsule Gus Grissom July 21 (1961)

1961 · Short film · 29 min

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Synopsis

This television feed shows the splashdown, attempted recovery and loss of the Mercury-Redstone 4's Liberty Bell 7 capsule. The loss occurred as a result of the accidental deployment of the capsule's hatch, which was equipped with an emergency explosive release system. Astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom was rescued without injury and flown to the aircraft carrier USS Randolph for evaluation. Commentary in the film is provided by Jules Bergman, ABC's science editor, as well as correspondent Robert Lodge. Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States human spaceflight, on July 21, 1961. The flight was suborbital and lasted 15 minutes 30 seconds, reached an altitude of more than 102.8 nautical miles (190.4 km), and flew 262.5 nautical miles (486.2 km) downrange, landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The capsule was recovered in 1999. Grissom later flew in Gemini III, and then tragically died in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "

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Details

Running time
29 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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