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Virgil Grissom

Virgil I. GRISSOM
PROFILE
Full Name:	Virgil Ivan 'Gus' GRISSOM.
Rank:	Lieutenant-Colonel, US Air Force (Deceased).
Born:	3 April 1926 in Mitchell, Indiana, USA (American).
Died:	27 January 1967, during a fire in the Apollo 1 Command Module, LC34, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. He was aged 40.
Education:	1944: Graduated from Mitchell High School, Indiana. 1950: BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
Career Highlights:	1943-45: Aviation Cadet with the US Army Air Corps. 1946-Feb 1950: Student at Purdue University. Feb 1950-Mar 1951: Air cadet, USAF; (Mar 1951) received pilot wings. Dec 1951-1952: F-86 replacement pilot, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing; flew 100 combat missions with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Korea. 1952-Aug 1955: Jet Instructor, Bryan Air Force Base (AFB), Texas. Aug 1955-Oct 1956: Student, AF Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. Oct 1956-May 1957: Student, USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California. May 1957-Apr 1959: USAF test pilot, fighter branch, Wright-Patterson AFB. In his career, Grissom logged 4,600 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jets.

NASA ASTRONAUT ASSIGNMENTS
1959:	(9 Apr) Selected as one of the seven original Mercury astronauts chosen by NASA (Group 1); (27 Apr) reported to NASA's Space Task Group, Langley Research Center, Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia; Mercury training; (Jul) received a technical assignment for spacecraft automatic and manual control systems; Mercury training.
1960:	Mercury training.
1961:	Mercury training; (19 Jan) informed by Robert Gilruth that he would fly the second sub-orbital Mercury mission; (22 Feb) named with Alan Shepard and John Glenn to begin 'special training' for the MR3 first crewed mission; Mercury training; (21 Jul) flew as PLT Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) Liberty Bell 7; sub-orbital mission (15 min 37 sec); almost drowned during recovery operations and Liberty Bell 7 sank in the Atlantic Ocean [it was recovered on 20 July 1999, after a 14-year search, by an underwater salvage team led by Carl Newport]; assigned as Astronaut Office (Code CB) representative for development issues on Mercury Mark II systems (renamed as Gemini in January 1962); Grissom became the CB representative to determine crew position and display parameters for the Gemini crew compartment.
1962:	Gemini systems development assignments; working on astronaut procedures training; (Feb) Capcom in Bermuda for MA-6 (Glenn); (May) Capcom at Mission Control Center Houston (MCC-H) for MA-7 (Carpenter); (Oct) Capcom in Hawaii for MA-8 (Schirra); (Oct) assigned as Astronaut Group 2 training manager; began early Apollo systems training; Astronaut Office relocated during the year from Langley to the new Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas.
1963:	(26 Jan) received technical assignment for Project Gemini; (May) Capcom in Guaymas, Mexico for MA-9 (Cooper); (Jul) informed by Deke Slayton that he would be BUp Command Pilot for Gemini 3 (with Frank Borman) then rotate to fly the 14-day Gemini 6 mission; (Oct) reassigned as Command Pilot Gemini 3 (with John Young) due to grounding of Shepard; Grissom and Young would then BUp Gemini 6 before Grissom moved over to an early Block I Apollo mission; Gemini training; generic Apollo systems training.
1964:	Gemini mission training; (13 Apr) named Command Pilot Gemini 3; (8 Jul) named new Gemini Branch Chief, CB; Gemini mission training; generic Apollo systems training.
1965:	Gemini mission training; (23 Mar) flew as Command Pilot Gemini 3 (4 hrs 52 min); first US two-person space flight, first crewed spacecraft to manoeuvre in space; (5 Apr) named BUp Command Pilot Gemini 6; Gemini mission training; (Jun) Capcom MCC-H for Gemini 4; Gemini mission training; (Aug) Capcom at Cape Kennedy for Gemini 5; Gemini mission training; (Dec) informed by Slayton of his pending assignment as CDR for Apollo 1 (with Ed White and Roger Chaffee).
1966:	Apollo mission training; (3 Feb) named as Chief, Apollo Branch Office, CB; (21 Mar) named officially as CDR Apollo 1; Apollo mission training.
1967:	Apollo mission training; (27 Jan) killed with White and Chaffee in the Apollo 1 pad fire, Pad 34, KSC, Florida; (31 Jan) buried with full military honours at Section 3, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Grissom was a leading candidate to BUp one of the Apollo Block II development missions, likely leading to the command position of an early lunar landing mission.

Virgil 'Gus' GRISSOM Space Flight Missions
Mission	Vehicle	Position	Dates DD/MM/YY	Duration DD:HH:MM:SS	Orbits	EVAs
Mercury 4	Redstone	Pilot	21/07/1961	00:00:15:37	Sub-orbital	0
Gemini 3	Titan II	Command Pilot	23/03/1965	00:04:52:31	3	0

Missions Flown		2	Total Flight Time:	00:05:08:08	3	0

Space Explorer Achievements
First person to fly two space missions (1961 sub-orbital, 1965 orbital) Commanded first American two-person flight and first crewed spacecraft to manoeuvre in orbit (Gemini 3)

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All images are courtesy of NASA, unless otherwise stated.

Official NASA portrait of Gus Grissom

USAF pilot Grissom logged 3,500 hours flying time in jets during his career. Here, he is pictured standing in front of an F-102 aircraft.

Grissom (far right) and Deke Slayton (far left) greet the returning Alan Shepard (2nd left) following his recovery from the Mercury 3 mission, America's first space flight (sub-orbital). Grissom would be the next to fly.

A smiling Gus Grissom is assisted with his Mercury space suit by suit specialist Joe W. Schmidt during preparations for the Mercury 4 sub-orbital mission.

Grissom is seen through the window of the Gemini 3 capsule during preparations for the mission's launch in March 1965.

The ill-fated Apollo 1 crew. (L to R) Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.