Virgil I. (‘Gus’) GRISSOM

CAREER

1943-1945: Aviation Cadet US Army Air Corps

1946- Feb 1950: StudentPurdueUniversity

Feb 1950-Mar 1951: Air cadet USAF; [Mar] received pilot wings

Dec 1951-1952: F-86 replacement pilot 4^th Fighter Interceptor Wing; flew 100 combat missions with the 334^th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Korea.

1952-Aug 1955: Jet instructor, Bryan 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 he logged 4600 hrs flying time, 3500 hrs in jets.

ASTRONAUT ASSIGNMENTS

1959:   [09.04] Named as one of Americas first seven (Mercury) astronauts (Group 1); [27.04]  reported to NASA’s Space Task Group, located at the Langley Research Center, Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia; Mercury training [Jul]received technical assignment  for spacecraft automatic and manual control systems; Mercury training

1960: Mercury training

1961:   Mercury training ;[19.01] informed by Robert Gilruth he would fly the second suborbital Mercury mission (22.02) named with Alan Shepard and John Glenn to begin ‘special training’ for the MR-3 first manned mission; Mercury training; [21.07] Pilot Mercury Redstone 4 (Liberty-Bell 7) America’s second suborbital spaceflight [15 minutes ]; almost drowned during recovery operations (Liberty-Bell 7 sank. It was not until on 20 July 1999 after a 14 year search that it was recovered by an underwater salvage team lead by Carl Newport, 38 years after it was lost);  assigned as CB representative  for development issues on Mercury Mark II systems (renamed Gemini in January 1962); Grissom became the astronaut office representative to determine crew position  and display parameters of Gemini crew compartment. 

1962:   Gemini systems development assignments; working on astronaut procedures training; [Feb] Capcom Bermuda MA-6 (Glenn); [May] Capcom Control Center MA-7 (Carpenter); [Oct] Capcom -Hawaii MA-8 (Schirra); [Oct] assigned as Astronaut Group 2 training manager; early Apollo systems training commenced; astronaut office relocated during the year from Langley to new Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston Texas. 

1963:   [26.01] received technical assignment for Project Gemini; [May] Capcom Guayma MA-9 (Cooper); [Jul] informed by Deke Slayton he would be BUp Command Pilot Gemini 3 (with Frank Borman) then rotate and fly a 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 1 Apollo mission; Gemini mission training; continues generic Apollo systems training

1964:   Gemini mission training; [13.04] named Command Pilot Gemini 3; [8 .07] named new Gemini Branch Chief, CB; Gemini mission training; continues generic Apollo systems training

1965:   Gemini mission training [23.03] Command Pilot Gemini 3, first US two man spaceflight, first manned spacecraft to manoeuvre in space (4 hrs 52 min); [05.04] named BUp Command Pilot Gemini 6; Gemini mission training; [Jun] Capcom MCC-Houston Gemini 4; Gemini mission training; [Aug] Capcom Cape Gemini 5; Gemini mission training; [Dec] informed by Slayton of his pending assignment as CDR Apollo 1 with White and Chaffee

1966: Apollo mission training; [03.02] named Chief Apollo Branch Office CB; [21.03] named officially as Commander Apollo 1; Apollo mission training

1967:   Apollo mission training; [27.01] killed with White and Chaffee in Apollo 1 pad fire Pad 34, KSC, Florida ; [31.01] 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 possibly leading to the command position of an early lunar landing mission. He contributed to the book We Seven (1962) and completed work on Gemini (1968 shortly before his death. His wife, Betty co-wrote a book on Grissom published as Starfall (1974)

SPACEFLIGHT RECORD