Astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
Astronaut Gus Grissom, the command pilot of the first crewed mission of Project Gemini, is shown in the Gemini-Titan 3 (GT-3) spacecraft just before the hatches are secured prior to launch. Grissom and his pilot, astronaut John W. Young, made three orbits of Earth during the GT-3 mission, in four hours and 53 minutes.
Virgil I. Grissom was born on April 3, 1926, in Mitchell, Indiana. After serving in the Korean War, Grissom studied aeronautical engineering and then completed Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1959, he was chosen as one of NASA's first seven astronauts, known as the Mercury Seven. He became the second American in space on his Mercury-Redstone 4 suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. Grissom was named to serve as command pilot for the AS-204 mission, the first 3-man Apollo flight. He and his crewmates died on January 27, 1967, in the Apollo spacecraft flash fire during a launch pad test at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Credit: NASA
Photo number: S65-23489
Date taken: March 23, 1965
Astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
Astronaut Gus Grissom, the command pilot of the first crewed mission of Project Gemini, is shown in the Gemini-Titan 3 (GT-3) spacecraft just before the hatches are secured prior to launch. Grissom and his pilot, astronaut John W. Young, made three orbits of Earth during the GT-3 mission, in four hours and 53 minutes.
Virgil I. Grissom was born on April 3, 1926, in Mitchell, Indiana. After serving in the Korean War, Grissom studied aeronautical engineering and then completed Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1959, he was chosen as one of NASA's first seven astronauts, known as the Mercury Seven. He became the second American in space on his Mercury-Redstone 4 suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. Grissom was named to serve as command pilot for the AS-204 mission, the first 3-man Apollo flight. He and his crewmates died on January 27, 1967, in the Apollo spacecraft flash fire during a launch pad test at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Credit: NASA
Photo number: S65-23489
Date taken: March 23, 1965