Grissom

On Jan. 27, 1967, a fire swept through the Apollo 1 Command Module (filled with pure oxygen) during a launch rehearsal test, quickly killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

New Evidence Shows That Gus Grissom Did Not Accidentally Sink His Own Spacecraft 60 Years Ago

Did Static Electricity — Not Gus Grissom — Blow the Hatch of the Liberty Bell 7 Spacecraft?

60 years ago today, Liberty Bell 7 prematurely blew its hatch after splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. For decades, a myth persisted (largely due to Tom Wolff's "The Right Stuff") that astronaut Gus Grissom panicked and blew the hatch early. Now, new evidence shows static electricity is to blame.

Gus Grissom taught NASA a hard lesson: “You can hurt yourself in the ocean." From the archives: Grissom's infamous (and impactful) ocean landing turns 60 this week.